Autonomous Aerial Vehicle Hardware Configuration

ABSTRACT

An introduced autonomous aerial vehicle can include multiple cameras for capturing images of a surrounding physical environment that are utilized for motion planning by an autonomous navigation system. In some embodiments, the cameras can be integrated into one or more rotor assemblies that house powered rotors to free up space within the body of the aerial vehicle. In an example embodiment, an aerial vehicle includes multiple upward-facing cameras and multiple downward-facing cameras with overlapping fields of view to enable stereoscopic computer vision in a plurality of directions around the aerial vehicle. Similar camera arrangements can also be implemented in fixed-wing aerial vehicles.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/395,110, titled “AUTONOMOUS AERIAL VEHICLE HARDWARE CONFIGURATION,”filed Apr. 25, 2019; which is entitled to the benefit and/or right ofpriority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/663,194, titled“AUTONOMOUS UAV HARDWARE CONFIGURATIONS,” filed Apr. 26, 2018, thecontents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety for all purposes. This application is therefore entitled to apriority date of Apr. 26, 2018.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to autonomous aerial vehicle technology.

BACKGROUND

Vehicles can be configured to autonomously navigate a physicalenvironment. For example, an autonomous vehicle with various onboardsensors can be configured to generate perception inputs based on thesurrounding physical environment that are then used to estimate aposition and/or orientation of the autonomous vehicle within thephysical environment. In some cases, the perception inputs may includeimages of the surrounding physical environment captured by cameras onboard the vehicle. An autonomous navigation system can then utilizethese position and/or orientation estimates to guide the autonomousvehicle through the physical environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a first example unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

FIG. 1B shows a second example UAV.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an example navigation system for a UAV.

FIG. 3A shows a block diagram that illustrates objective-based motionplanning by the navigation system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3B shows a block diagram of an example objective that can beapplied as part of the objective-based motion planning illustrated inFIG. 3A.

FIG. 4A shows a third example UAV.

FIG. 4B shows a perspective view of a first example rotor assembly.

FIG. 4C shows a sectional view of the example rotor assembly of FIG. 4B.

FIG. 4D shows a perspective view of a second example rotor assembly.

FIG. 4E shows a perspective view of a third example rotor assembly.

FIG. 4F shows a perspective view of a fourth example rotor assembly.

FIG. 5A shows a top view of a fourth example UAV.

FIG. 5B shows a bottom view of the example UAV of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 5C shows a side view of the example UAV of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6A shows a top view of a fifth example UAV.

FIG. 6B shows a side view of the example UAV of FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7A shows a top view of a sixth example UAV.

FIG. 7B shows a bottom view of the example UAV of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 7C shows a side view of the example UAV of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8A shows a perspective view of a fifth example rotor assembly.

FIG. 8B shows a sectional view of the example rotor assembly of FIG. 8A.

FIG. 9A shows a top view of a seventh example UAV.

FIG. 9B shows a side view of the example UAV of FIG. 9A.

FIG. 10A shows a top view of an eighth example UAV.

FIG. 10B shows a side view of the example UAV of FIG. 10A.

FIG. 10C shows a top view of a ninth example UAV.

FIG. 10D shows a side view of the example UAV of FIG. 10C.

FIG. 11A shows a top view of a tenth example UAV.

FIG. 11B shows a side view of the example UAV of FIG. 11A.

FIG. 12A shows a top view of an eleventh example UAV.

FIG. 12B shows a bottom view of the example UAV of FIG. 12A.

FIG. 12C shows a side view of the example UAV of FIG. 12A.

FIG. 13 shows a detail view of an example protective structural elementfor an image capture device.

FIG. 14A shows a perspective view of an example rotor assembly withremovable rotor blades.

FIG. 14B shows a perspective view of another example rotor assembly withremovable rotor blades.

FIG. 14C shows a top view of the example rotor assembly of FIG. 14B.

FIG. 15A shows a side view of an example UAV with a removable battery.

FIG. 15B shows a side view of the example UAV of FIG. 15A with thebattery removed.

FIG. 15C shows a view of a user holding the example UAV of FIG. 15A.

FIG. 15D shows a side view of an example UAV with a removable batterythat includes a user interface component.

FIG. 16A shows a top view of an example UAV with a gimbaled imagecapture device.

FIG. 16B shows a side view of the gimbaled image capture device of theUAV of FIG. 16A.

FIG. 16C shows a front view of the gimbaled image capture device of theUAV of FIG. 16A.

FIG. 16D shows a side view of the gimbaled image capture device of theUAV of FIG. 16A in an unlocked position.

FIG. 16E shows a side view of the gimbaled image capture device of theUAV of FIG. 16A in a locked position.

FIG. 17 shows a top view of a first example fixed-wing UAV.

FIG. 18 shows a diagram of an example flight profile of the examplefixed-wing UAV of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19A shows a top view of second example fixed-wing UAV.

FIG. 19B shows a top view of a third example fixed-wing UAV.

FIG. 20A shows a top view of a fourth example fixed-wing UAV.

FIG. 20B shows a rear view of the example UAV of FIG. 20A.

FIG. 21A shows a top view of a fifth example fixed-wing UAV.

FIG. 21B shows a rear view of the example UAV of FIG. 21A.

FIG. 22A shows a perspective view of a sixth example fixed-wing UAV.

FIG. 22B shows a perspective view of a seventh example fixed-wing UAV.

FIG. 23 shows a block diagram of an example aerial vehicle system.

FIG. 24 shows a block diagram of an example computer processing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Example Implementation of an Autonomous AerialVehicle

FIGS. 1A and 1B show example implementations of autonomous aerialvehicles that can be configured according to the introduced technique.Specifically, FIG. 1A shows an example implementation of an unmannedaerial vehicle (UAV) 100 in the form of a rotor-based aircraft such as a“quadcopter.” The example UAV 100 includes propulsion and controlactuators 110 (e.g., powered rotors and/or aerodynamic control surfaces)for maintaining controlled flight, various sensors for automatednavigation and flight control 112, and one or more image capture devices114 and 115 for capturing images of the surrounding physical environmentwhile in flight. “Images,” in this context, include both still imagesand captured video. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, UAV 100 may alsoinclude other sensors (e.g., for capturing audio) and systems forcommunicating with other devices (e.g., a mobile device 104) via awireless communication channel 116.

In the example depicted in FIG. 1A, the image capture devices 114 and/or115 are depicted capturing images of an object 102 in the physicalenvironment that happens to be a person. In some cases, the imagecapture devices 114/115 may be configured to capture images for displayto users (e.g., as an aerial video platform) and/or, as described above,may also be configured for capturing images for use in autonomousnavigation. In other words, the UAV 100 may autonomously (i.e., withoutdirect human control) navigate the physical environment, for example, byprocessing images captured by any one or more image capture devices114/115. While in autonomous flight, UAV 100 can also capture imagesusing any one or more image capture devices that can be displayed inreal time and/or recorded for later display at other devices (e.g.,mobile device 104).

FIG. 1A shows an example configuration of a UAV 100 with multiple imagecapture devices configured for different purposes. In the exampleconfiguration shown in FIG. 1A, the UAV 100 includes multiple imagecapture devices 114 arranged about a perimeter of the UAV 100. The imagecapture devices 114 may be configured to capture images for use by avisual navigation system in guiding autonomous flight by the UAV 100and/or a tracking system for tracking other objects in the physicalenvironment (e.g., as described with respect to FIG. 2). Specifically,the example configuration of UAV 100 depicted in FIG. 1A includes anarray of multiple stereoscopic image capture devices 114 placed around aperimeter of the UAV 100 so as to provide stereoscopic image capture upto a full 360 degrees around the UAV 100. However, as will be described,certain embodiments of the introduced technique include alternativearrangements of image capture devices. Accordingly, the arrangement ofimage capture devices 114 depicted in FIG. 1A is not to be construed aslimiting.

In addition to the array of image capture devices 114, the UAV 100depicted in FIG. 1A also includes another image capture device 115configured to capture images that are to be displayed but notnecessarily used for autonomous navigation. In some embodiments, theimage capture device 115 may be similar to the image capture devices 114except in how captured images are utilized. However, in otherembodiments, the image capture devices 115 and 114 may be configureddifferently to suit their respective roles.

In many cases, it is generally preferable to capture images that areintended to be viewed at as high a resolution as possible given hardwareand software constraints. On the other hand, if used for visualnavigation and/or object tracking, lower resolution images may bepreferable in certain contexts to reduce processing load and providemore robust motion planning capabilities. Accordingly, in someembodiments, the image capture device 115 may be configured to capturerelatively high resolution (e.g., above 3840×2160) color images, whilethe image capture devices 114 may be configured to capture relativelylow resolution (e.g., below 320×240) grayscale images. Again, theseconfigurations are examples provided to illustrate how image capturedevices 114 and 115 may differ depending on their respective roles andconstraints of the system. Other implementations may configure suchimage capture devices differently.

The UAV 100 can be configured to track one or more objects such as ahuman subject 102 through the physical environment based on imagesreceived via the image capture devices 114 and/or 115. Further, the UAV100 can be configured to track image capture of such objects, forexample, for filming purposes. In some embodiments, the image capturedevice 115 is coupled to the body of the UAV 100 via an adjustablemechanism that allows for one or more degrees of freedom of motionrelative to a body of the UAV 100. The UAV 100 may be configured toautomatically adjust an orientation of the image capture device 115 soas to track image capture of an object (e.g., human subject 102) as boththe UAV 100 and object are in motion through the physical environment.In some embodiments, this adjustable mechanism may include a mechanicalgimbal mechanism that rotates an attached image capture device about oneor more axes. In some embodiments, the gimbal mechanism may beconfigured as a hybrid mechanical-digital gimbal system coupling theimage capture device 115 to the body of the UAV 100. In a hybridmechanical-digital gimbal system, orientation of the image capturedevice 115 about one or more axes may be adjusted by mechanical means,while orientation about other axes may be adjusted by digital means. Forexample, a mechanical gimbal mechanism may handle adjustments in thepitch of the image capture device 115, while adjustments in the roll andyaw are accomplished digitally by transforming (e.g., rotating, panning,etc.) the captured images so as to effectively provide at least threedegrees of freedom in the motion of the image capture device 115relative to the UAV 100.

In some embodiments, an autonomous aerial vehicle may instead beconfigured as a fixed-wing aircraft, for example, as depicted in FIG.1B. Similar to the UAV 100 described with respect to FIG. 1A, thefixed-wing UAV 100 b shown in FIG. 1B may include multiple image capturedevices 114 b arranged around the UAV 100 b that are configured tocapture images for use by a visual navigation system in guidingautonomous flight by the UAV 100 b. The example fixed-wing UAV 100 b mayalso include a subject image capture device 115 b configured to captureimages (e.g., of subject 102) that are to be displayed but notnecessarily used for navigation. For simplicity, certain embodiments ofthe introduced technique may be described herein with reference to theUAV 100 of FIG. 1A; however, a person having ordinary skill in the artwill recognize that such descriptions can be similarly applied in thecontext of the fixed-wing UAV 100 b of FIG. 1B.

The mobile device 104 depicted in both FIGS. 1A and 1B may include anytype of mobile device such as a laptop computer, a table computer (e.g.,Apple iPad™), a cellular telephone, a smart phone (e.g., Apple iPhone™),a handled gaming device (e.g., Nintendo Switch™), a single-functionremote control device, or any other type of device capable of receivinguser inputs, transmitting signals for delivery to the UAV 100 (e.g.,based on the user inputs), and/or presenting information to the user(e.g., based on sensor data gathered by the UAV 100). In someembodiments, the mobile device 104 may include a touch screen displayand an associated graphical user interface (GUI) for receiving userinputs and presenting information. In some embodiments, the mobiledevice 104 may include various sensors (e.g., an image capture device,accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS receiver, etc.) that can collect sensordata. In some embodiments, such sensor data can be communicated to theUAV 100, for example, for use by an onboard navigation system of the UAV100.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates an example navigation system120 that may be implemented as part of the example UAV 100. Thenavigation system 120 may include any combination of hardware and/orsoftware. For example, in some embodiments, the navigation system 120and associated subsystems may be implemented as instructions stored inmemory and executable by one or more processors.

As shown in FIG. 2, the example navigation system 120 includes a motionplanner 130 (also referred to herein as a “motion planning system”) forautonomously maneuvering the UAV 100 through a physical environment anda tracking system 140 for tracking one or more objects in the physicalenvironment. Note that the arrangement of systems shown in FIG. 2 is anexample provided for illustrative purposes and is not to be construed aslimiting. For example, in some embodiments, the tracking system 140 maybe separate from the navigation system 120. Further, the subsystemsmaking up the navigation system 120 may not be logically separated asshown in FIG. 2 and instead may effectively operate as a singleintegrated navigation system.

In some embodiments, the motion planner 130, operating separately or inconjunction with the tracking system 140, is configured to generate aplanned trajectory through a three-dimensional (3D) space of a physicalenvironment based, for example, on images received from image capturedevices 114 and/or 115, data from other sensors 112 (e.g., IMU, GPS,proximity sensors, etc.), and/or one or more control inputs 170. Controlinputs 170 may be from external sources such as a mobile device operatedby a user or may be from other systems on board the UAV 100.

In some embodiments, the navigation system 120 may generate controlcommands configured to cause the UAV 100 to maneuver along the plannedtrajectory generated by the motion planner 130. For example, the controlcommands may be configured to control one or more control actuators 110(e.g., powered rotors and/or control surfaces) to cause the UAV 100 tomaneuver along the planned 3D trajectory. Alternatively, a plannedtrajectory generated by the motion planner 130 may be output to aseparate flight controller 160 that is configured to process trajectoryinformation and generate appropriate control commands configured tocontrol the one or more control actuators 110.

The tracking system 140, operating separately or in conjunction with themotion planner 130, may be configured to track one or more objects inthe physical environment based, for example, on images received fromimage capture devices 114 and/or 115, data from other sensors 112 (e.g.,IMU, GPS, proximity sensors, etc.), one or more control inputs 170 fromexternal sources (e.g., from a remote user, navigation application,etc.), and/or one or more specified tracking objectives. Trackingobjectives may include, for example, a designation by a user to track aparticular detected object in the physical environment or a standingobjective to track objects of a particular classification (e.g.,people).

As alluded to above, the tracking system 140 may communicate with themotion planner 130, for example, to maneuver the UAV 100 based onmeasured, estimated, and/or predicted positions, orientations, and/ortrajectories of the UAV 100 itself and of other objects in the physicalenvironment. For example, the tracking system 140 may communicate anavigation objective to the motion planner 130 to maintain a particularseparation distance to a tracked object that is in motion.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 140, operating separately or inconjunction with the motion planner 130, is further configured togenerate control commands configured to cause one or morestabilization/tracking devices 152 to adjust an orientation of any imagecapture devices 114/115 relative to the body of the UAV 100 based on thetracking of one or more objects. Such stabilization/tracking devices 152may include a mechanical gimbal or a hybrid digital-mechanical gimbal,as previously described. For example, while tracking an object in motionrelative to the UAV 100, the tracking system 140 may generate controlcommands configured to adjust an orientation of an image capture device115 so as to keep the tracked object centered in the field of view (FOV)of the image capture device 115 while the UAV 100 is in motion.Similarly, the tracking system 140 may generate commands or output datato a digital image processor (e.g., that is part of a hybriddigital-mechanical gimbal) to transform images captured by the imagecapture device 115 to keep the tracked object centered in the FOV of theimage capture device 115 while the UAV 100 is in motion. The imagecapture devices 114/115 and associated stabilization/tracking devices152 are collectively depicted in FIG. 2 as an image capture system 150.

In some embodiments, a navigation system 120 (e.g., specifically amotion planning component 130) is configured to incorporate multipleobjectives at any given time to generate an output such as a plannedtrajectory that can be used to guide the autonomous behavior of the UAV100. For example, certain built-in objectives, such as obstacleavoidance and vehicle dynamic limits, can be combined with other inputobjectives (e.g., a landing objective) as part of a trajectorygeneration process. In some embodiments, the trajectory generationprocess can include gradient-based optimization, gradient-freeoptimization, sampling, end-to-end learning, or any combination thereof.The output of this trajectory generation process can be a plannedtrajectory over some time horizon (e.g., 10 seconds) that is configuredto be interpreted and utilized by a flight controller 160 to generatecontrol commands (usable by control actuators 110) that cause the UAV100 to maneuver according to the planned trajectory. A motion planner130 may continually perform the trajectory generation process as newperception inputs (e.g., images or other sensor data) and objectiveinputs are received. Accordingly, the planned trajectory may becontinually updated over some time horizon, thereby enabling the UAV 100to dynamically and autonomously respond to changing conditions.

FIG. 3A shows a block diagram that illustrates an example system forobjective-based motion planning. As shown in FIG. 3A, a motion planner130 (e.g., as discussed with respect to FIG. 2) may generate andcontinually update a planned trajectory 320 based on a trajectorygeneration process involving one or more objectives (e.g., as previouslydescribed) and/or more perception inputs 306. The perception inputs 306may include images received from one or more image capture devices114/115, results of processing such images (e.g., disparity images,depth values, semantic data, etc.), sensor data from one or more othersensors 112 on board the UAV 100 or associated with other computingdevices (e.g., mobile device 104) in communication with the UAV 100,and/or data generated by, or otherwise transmitted from, other systemson board the UAV 100. The one or more objectives 302 utilized in themotion planning process may include built-in objectives governinghigh-level behavior (e.g., avoiding collision with other objects,maneuvering within dynamic limitations, etc.), as well as objectivesbased on control inputs 308 (e.g., from users or other onboard systems).Each of the objectives 302 may be encoded as one or more equations forincorporation in one or more motion planning equations utilized by themotion planner 130 when generating a planned trajectory to satisfy theone or more objectives. The control inputs 308 may be in the form ofcontrol commands from a user or from other components of the navigationsystem 120 such as a tracking system 140. In some embodiments, suchinputs are received in the form of calls to an application programminginterface (API) associated with the navigation system 120. In someembodiments, the control inputs 308 may include predefined objectivesthat are generated by other components of the navigation system 120 suchas tracking system 140.

Each given objective of the set of one or more objectives 302 utilizedin the motion planning process may include one or more definedparameterizations that are exposed through the API. For example, FIG. 3Bshows an example objective 332 that includes a target 334, a dead-zone336, a weighting factor 338, and other parameters 340.

The target 344 defines the goal of the particular objective that themotion planner 130 will attempt to satisfy when generating a plannedtrajectory 320. For example, the target 334 of a given objective may beto maintain line of sight with one or more detected objects or to fly toa particular position in the physical environment.

The dead-zone defines a region around the target 334 in which the motionplanner 130 may not take action to correct. This dead-zone 336 may bethought of as a tolerance level for satisfying a given target 334. Forexample, a target of an example image-relative objective may be tomaintain image capture of a tracked object such that the tracked objectappears at a particular position in the image space of a captured image(e.g., at the center). To avoid continuous adjustments based on slightdeviations from this target, a dead-zone is defined to allow for sometolerance. For example, a dead-zone can be defined in a y-direction andx-direction surrounding a target location in the image space. In otherwords, as long as the tracked object appears within an area of the imagebounded by the target and respective dead-zones, the objective isconsidered satisfied.

The weighting factor 336 (also referred to as an “aggressiveness”factor) defines a relative level of impact the particular objective 332will have on the overall trajectory generation process performed by themotion planner 130. Recall that a particular objective 332 may be one ofseveral objectives 302 that may include competing targets. In an idealscenario, the motion planner 130 will generate a planned trajectory 320that perfectly satisfies all of the relevant objectives at any givenmoment. For example, the motion planner 130 may generate a plannedtrajectory that maneuvers the UAV 100 to a particular GPS coordinatewhile following a tracked object, capturing images of the trackedobject, maintaining line of sight with the tracked object, and avoidingcollisions with other objects. In practice, such an ideal scenario maybe rare. Accordingly, the motion planner system 130 may need to favorone objective over another when the satisfaction of both is impossibleor impractical (for any number of reasons). The weighting factors foreach of the objectives 302 define how they will be considered by themotion planner 130.

In an example embodiment, a weighting factor is a numerical value on ascale of 0.0 to 1.0. A value of 0.0 for a particular objective mayindicate that the motion planner 130 can completely ignore the objective(if necessary), while a value of 1.0 may indicate that the motionplanner 130 will make a maximum effort to satisfy the objective whilemaintaining safe flight. A value of 0.0 may similarly be associated withan inactive objective and may be set to zero, for example, in responseto toggling the objective from an active state to an inactive state. Lowweighting factor values (e.g., 0.0-0.4) may be set for certainobjectives that are based around subjective or aesthetic targets such asmaintaining visual saliency in the captured images. Conversely, highweighting factor values (e.g., 0.5-1.0) may be set for more criticalobjectives such as avoiding a collision with another object.

In some embodiments, the weighting factor values 338 may remain staticas a planned trajectory is continually updated while the UAV 100 is inflight. Alternatively, or in addition, weighting factors for certainobjectives may dynamically change based on changing conditions, whilethe UAV 100 is in flight. For example, an objective to avoid an areaassociated with uncertain depth value calculations in captured images(e.g., due to low light conditions) may have a variable weighting factorthat increases or decreases based on other perceived threats to the safeoperation of the UAV 100. In some embodiments, an objective may beassociated with multiple weighting factor values that change dependingon how the objective is to be applied. For example, a collisionavoidance objective may utilize a different weighting factor dependingon the class of a detected object that is to be avoided. As anillustrative example, the system may be configured to more heavily favoravoiding a collision with a person or animal as opposed to avoiding acollision with a building or tree.

The UAV 100 shown in FIG. 1A and the associated navigation system 120shown in FIG. 2 are examples provided for illustrative purposes. Anaerial vehicle, in accordance with the present teachings, may includemore or fewer components than are shown. Further, the example aerialvehicles described herein (including example UAVs 100, 400, 500, 600,700, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1900 a, 1900 b, 2000,2100, and 2200) and associated navigation system 120 depicted in FIG. 2may include or be part of one or more of the components of the examplesystem 2300 described with respect to FIG. 23 and/or the examplecomputer processing system 2400 described with respect to FIG. 24. Forexample, the aforementioned navigation system 120 and associated motionplanner 130 and tracking system 140 may include or be part of the system2300 and/or computer processing system 2400.

The example aerial vehicles and associated systems described herein aredescribed in the context of an unmanned aerial vehicle such as the UAV100 for illustrative simplicity; however, the introduced aerial vehicleconfigurations are not limited to unmanned vehicles. The introducedtechnique may similarly be applied to configure various types of mannedaerial vehicles, such as a manned rotor craft (e.g., helicopters) or amanned fixed-wing aircraft (e.g., airplanes). For example, a mannedaircraft may include an autonomous navigation system (similar tonavigations systems 120) in addition to a manual control (direct orindirect) system. During flight, control of the craft may switch overfrom a manual control system in which an onboard pilot has direct orindirect control, to an automated control system to autonomouslymaneuver the craft without requiring any input from the onboard pilot orany other remote individual. Switchover from manual control to automatedcontrol may be executed in response to pilot input and/or automaticallyin response to a detected event such as a remote signal, environmentalconditions, operational state of the aircraft, etc.

Arrangement of Image Capture Devices in Rotor Mounts

In some embodiments, one or more of the image capture devices (e.g., fornavigation and/or subject capture) can be arranged proximate to therotors of a UAV. Specifically, in some embodiments, one or more imagecapture devices may be arranged within and/or proximate to a structuralmount associated with a rotor or a structural arm that connects a rotormount to the body of the UAV. Arranging image capture devices within therotor mounts (or rotor arms) of the UAV may provide several advantages,including freeing space within the body of the UAV (e.g., for othersystems or batteries), reducing overall weight of the UAV (e.g., byconsolidating support structures), and getting baseline between theimage capture devices for stereo, trinocular, multi-view depthcomputation, etc.

FIG. 4A shows a side view of an example UAV 400 that includes rotorassemblies 413 that include integrated image capture devices. Theexample UAV 400 may be similar to UAV 100 described with respect to FIG.1A, except for the placement of image capture devices. As shown in FIG.4A, the example UAV 400 includes rotor assemblies 413 (with integrateddownward-facing image capture devices) that are structurally coupled toa body 402 of the UAV via support arms 403. The image capture devicesintegrated into rotor assemblies 413 may be configured for navigation,subject capture, and/or general image capture. In some embodiments, theimage capture devices are configured for navigation and may therefore beconfigured as “fisheye” cameras in order to provide broad image capturecoverage in a given direction. In this context a “fisheye” cameragenerally refers to a camera with a relatively wide FOV (e.g., at least180 degrees). Note, the dotted lines shown in FIG. 4A are shown toillustrate an example wide FOV of the image capture device associatedwith assemblies 413, but do not necessarily convey the actual FOV forall embodiments.

FIG. 4B shows a perspective detail view of a rotor assembly 413 with anintegrated image capture device. As shown in FIG. 4B, the rotor assembly413 includes a rotor housing 404 (i.e., a rotor nacelle) that surroundsan interior space within which a motor 411 and image capture device 414are arranged. The motor 411 may be any type of motor capable of applyingtorque to rotor blades 410 in order to provide propulsion for the UAV400. For example, in some embodiments, motor 411 may be an electricbrushless motor, although other suitable motor types may be similarlyimplemented. The image capture device 414 may be any type of imagecapture device configured to capture images of the surrounding physicalenvironment. In some embodiments, image capture device 414 is configuredto capture images that are utilized by an autonomous navigation system120, for example, similar to the image capture devices 114 describedwith respect to UAV 100. In such embodiments, the image capture device414 may include a fisheye camera for capturing a relatively wide-angleFOV (e.g., at least 180 degrees), for example, as indicated by thedotted lines in FIG. 4B. Note, the dotted lines shown in FIG. 4B areshown to illustrate an example FOV of the image capture device 414, butdo not necessarily convey the actual FOV for all embodiments. In someembodiments, images captured by the image capture device 414 may also beused for display to a user, for example, similar to image capture device115 described with respect to UAV 100.

FIG. 4C shows a sectional view of the rotor assembly 413 depicted inFIG. 4B. As shown in FIG. 4C, the rotor housing 404 may comprise one ormore walls 424 that substantially enclose an interior space 426 of therotor housing 404. The term “substantially enclose” shall be understoodto mean that the walls 424 generally define an interior volume of space426, but may include one or more openings, for example, through which alens 434 of an image capture device 414 is exposed to the exterior ofthe rotor housing 404.

The walls 424 of the rotor housing 404 may be manufactured of anymaterial or combination of materials that are suitably durable andlightweight for use in an aerial vehicle. For example, in someembodiments, the walls 424 can be made of plastic, metal (e.g.,aluminum), carbon fiber, synthetic fiber, or some sort of compositematerial such as carbon fiber embedded in an epoxy resin. The actualmaterials used will depend on the performance requirements of a givenembodiment. The walls 424 may be manufactured using any manufacturingprocess suited for the selected material. For example, in the case ofplastic materials, the walls 424 may be manufactured using injectionmolding, extrusion molding, rotational molding, blow molding, 3Dprinting, milling, plastic welding, lamination, or any combinationthereof. In the case of metal materials, the walls 424 may bemanufactured using machining, stamping, casting, forming, metalinjection molding, computer numeric control (CNC) machining, or anycombination thereof. These are just example materials and manufacturingprocesses that are provided for illustrative purposes and are not to beconstrued as limiting.

The walls 424 of the rotor housing 404 may comprise a unitary structureor may represent multiple structural pieces that are affixed together,for example, using mechanical fasteners (e.g., clips, screws, bolts,etc.), adhesives (e.g., glue, tape, etc.), welding, or any othersuitable process for affixing parts together. Further, as will bedescribed, in some embodiments, the walls 424 of the rotor housing 404of a rotor assembly 413 may be part of or otherwise integrate with wallsforming other structural components of the aerial vehicle, such as arotor arm 403 or the body 402. The rotor housing 404 is depicted inFIGS. 4B and 4C as substantially cylindrical in shape, which may conformwith the usual shapes of the interior components such as motor 411 andimage capture device 414; however, this is an example shape provided forillustrative purposes and is not to be construed as limiting. Otherembodiments may include rotor housings of different shapes, for example,to accommodate interior components, for aerodynamic purposes, and/oraesthetic considerations.

As shown in FIG. 4C, the motor 411 and image capture device 414 arearranged within the interior space 426 of the rotor housing 404.Specifically, the motor 411 is arranged within the interior space 426proximate to a first end (or “top side”) of the rotor housing and theimage capture device 414 is arranged within the interior space 426proximate to a second end (or “bottom side”) of the rotor housing 404that is opposite the first end. Further, the motor 411 is oriented suchthat the attached rotor blades extend from the first end of the rotorhousing 404. Conversely, the image capture device 414 is oriented suchthat light is received through an opening in the second end of the rotorhousing 404. For example, image capture device 414 may include a lens434 that extends from the second end of the housing 404 such that theimage capture device 414 captures images of the physical environmentbelow the rotor assembly 413, while in use. Note that the orientationsof elements described with respect to the rotor assembly 413 depicted inFIG. 4C are relative and are provided as examples for illustrativepurposes. As will be described, in some embodiments, a similar rotorassembly may be oriented in an opposite direction such that the rotorblades extend from the bottom and the image capture device captureslight through an opening in the top of the rotor housing.

As previously mentioned, the motor 411 may be any type of motor capableof applying a torque to rotate the rotor blades 410. For illustrativepurposes, the motor 411 is depicted in FIG. 4C in the form of abrushless “outrunner” motor; however, this shall not be construed aslimiting. An “outrunner” motor can generally be understood as a type ofbrushless electric motor that spins an outer shell around its windingsas opposed to just spinning a rotor axle. As shown in FIG. 4C, theexample motor 411 includes a movable first motor assembly and astationary second motor assembly that includes an axle 460 about whichthe movable first motor assembly rotates. The first motor assembly isreferred to as “moveable” because it is attached to the rotor blades 410and rotates about the axle 460 of the stationary second motor assembly,when in use, thereby rotating the rotor blades 410.

The movable first motor assembly includes walls 440, 441 that form afirst motor housing. For example, the first motor housing may include aproximal end and a distal end arranged along an axis 480. The firstmotor housing includes a generally cylindrical side wall 440 that isarranged about axis 480 and an end wall (or “top wall”) 441 intersectingaxis 480 at the distal end of the first motor housing. The side wall 440and end wall 441 define an interior space of the first motor housingwith a generally circular opening at the proximal end of the first motorhousing. Similarly, the second motor assembly includes walls 442, 443that form a second motor housing. The second motor housing also has aproximal end and a distal end arranged along axis 480. The second motorhousing includes a generally cylindrical side wall 442 that is arrangedabout axis 480 and an end wall (or “bottom wall”) 443 intersecting axis480 at the distal end of the second motor housing. The side wall 442 andend wall 443 define an interior space of the second motor housing with agenerally circular opening at the proximal end of the second motorhousing.

The first motor assembly further includes an axle bearing 462 coupled tothe first motor housing, and a stator stack arranged around the axlebearing 462. In an embodiment, the stator stack includes multiple statorcoils 444 and optionally multiple stator teeth 446 which can divide aninduced electromagnet into multiple sections. Axle bearing 462 isintended to accommodate the previously mentioned axle 460 such that axle460 is freely rotatable within axle bearing 462. Axle bearing 462 may beof any type suitable to allow for rotation of axle 460. For example, inan embodiment, axle bearing 462 is a plain bearing including a generallycylindrical hollow space within which the shaft of axle 460 can rotate.In some embodiments, axle bearing 462 includes rolling elements such asball bearings arranged between generally cylindrical races. The statorcoils 444 may be made of a conductive material (e.g., copper) throughwhich an electric current can be run to induce the electromagnet of thestator stack.

The second motor assembly further includes the axle 460 that is affixedto the second motor housing and multiple magnets 450 that are affixed toan interior surface of the side walls 442 of the second motor housing.The fixed magnets 450 of the second motor assembly are affixed to theinner surface of side wall 442 and arranged such that that may cause thefirst motor assembly to rotate about axis 480 when a current is applied(and therefore an electromagnetic force induced) via the stator stack ofthe first motor assembly, thereby causing the attached rotor blades 410to rotate.

In some situations, operation of the motor 410 may cause vibrations orelectromagnetic interference that may interfere with or otherwise affectthe operation of an image capture device 414 in close proximity. Tocounteract the effects of such vibration and/or electromagneticinterference, the rotor assembly 413 may include an isolator componentor system 470.

For example, to isolate the image capture device 414 from vibrationcaused by the motor 410, the isolator system 470 may include one or moreactive and/or passive motion dampeners. The one or more motion dampenersmay isolate the image capture device 414 from the vibrations of themotor 411 and/or the motion of the surrounding walls of the rotorhousing 404 (i.e., caused by the motion of the UAV). Similarly, the oneor more motion dampeners may isolate the walls of the rotor housing 404from the vibrations of the motor 411 so that those vibrations are nottransferred to the image capture device 414.

Alternatively, or in addition, to isolate the image capture device 414from electromagnetic interference caused by the motor 411, the isolatorsystem 470 may include electromagnetic shielding. Electromagneticshielding may include one or more barriers made of conductive and/ormagnetic materials. Specific material may include, for example, sheetmetal, metal screen, metal mesh. In some embodiments, theelectromagnetic shield of the isolator system 470 may be configured as abarrier wall between the motor 411 and the image capture device 414, forexample, as shown in FIG. 4C. In other embodiments, the electromagneticshield may be configured as a cage or container to enclose the imagecapture device 414 and/or motor 411.

The image capture device 414 can also be arranged within any of theother structures extending from the central body of the UAV, such as anyof one or more rotor support arms (e.g., arm 403 in FIG. 4B) or otherstructures unrelated to the rotors. FIG. 4D shows an alternative rotorassembly 413 d that includes an image capture device 414 arranged withina rotor support arm 413 d that structurally couples the motor 411 orrotor housing 404 d to the body of the UAV. In other words, the imagecapture device 414 is arranged within the rotor support arm 403 d at apoint substantially between the motor 411 and the central body of theUAV. The term “substantially between” in this context means that theimage capture device 414 is at a position generally between the motor411 and the body of the UAV, but is not necessarily positioned along ashortest line between the motor 411 and the body of the UAV.

The image capture device 414 may be arranged at any point along a lengthof the support arm extending out from the body of the UAV. In someembodiments, the rotor housing may be substantially integrated as partof a support arm extending from the body of the UAV. For example, FIG.4E shows another alternative rotor assembly 413 e that includes anintegrated support arm rotor housing 403 e within which both the motor411 and image capture device 414 are arranged.

In some embodiments, the walls of the rotor housing and/or support armmay not fully or substantially enclose the motor 411 and/or imagecapture device. For example, in some embodiments, the individualhousings of the image capture device 414 and/or motor 411 may besufficient to protect internal components from the elements. FIG. 4Fshows another alternative rotor assembly 413 f that includes anintegrated support arm rotor housing 403 f with walls that do not fullyor substantially enclose the motor 411. As shown in FIG. 4F, the wallsof the integrated support arm rotor housing 403 f substantially enclosethe image capture device 414 but do not fully or substantially enclosethe motor 411. Instead, the motor 411 is partially nested into anindentation on the support arm 403 f or alternatively structurallycoupled to a top surface of the support arm 403 f. Such an embodimentmay be possible where the motor 411 includes its own housing (e.g., theaforementioned side walls 440, 442 and end walls 441, 443 described withrespect to FIG. 4C) and does not require the additional protection ofthe walls of support arm 403 f. Although not depicted in FIG. 4F, insome embodiments, the walls of the support arm 403 f may not fully orsubstantially enclose the image capture device 414 similar to the motor411. For example, the image capture device 414 may include its ownhousing and may therefore not require the additional protection of thewalls of support arm 403 f.

For illustrative simplicity, embodiments of a UAV may be describedherein with reference to just rotor assembly 413; however, suchembodiments may similarly implement alternative rotor assemblies such asassemblies 413 d, 413 e, and 413 f. Further, the various alternativerotor assemblies 413, 413 d, 413 e, and 413 f are examples provided forillustrative purposes and shall not be construed as limiting. Otherembodiments may combine certain features of the various rotor assemblies413, 413 d, 413 e, and 413 f. For example, another alternative rotorassembly (not depicted in the FIGS.) may include support arm and/orrotor housing walls that do not fully or substantially enclose the motor411 and/or image capture device 414 (e.g., as depicted in FIG. 4F) andmay arrange the image capture device 414 at a position substantiallybetween the motor 411 and the body of the UAV (e.g., as depicted in FIG.4E). Other configuration combinations may be similarly implemented.

Arrangement of Image Capture Devices in an Aerial Vehicle

The example UAV 100 depicted in FIG. 1A is described as including atleast multiple stereoscopic image capture devices 114 arranged around aperimeter of the UAV 100. For example, the UAV 100 may include fourstereoscopic image capture devices at each of four corners of the UAV aswell as an upward-facing stereoscopic image capture device and adownward-facing stereoscopic image capture device. Since eachstereoscopic image capture device includes two cameras, this representsa total of twelve cameras. In general, an autonomous navigation systemthat relies heavily on captured images will tend to be more effectivethe more image capture devices are utilized to capture the images.However, increasing quantities of cameras on board a UAV can have adetrimental effect in other areas. For example, the added weight of theadditional cameras can impact the maneuverability of the UAV and reduceflight time due to increased draw on batteries from the electricalmotors to keep the heavier craft airborne. The additional camerasthemselves will draw more power from the batteries, further reducingoverall flight time. To reduce weight and power draw, fewer cameras(e.g., fewer than twelve) can be utilized in various arrangements onboard the UAV, while still providing sufficient coverage of thesurrounding environment to allow an autonomous navigation system to planthe motion of the UAV to satisfy certain behavioral objectives and toavoid obstacles. FIGS. 5A-12B illustrate several example arrangements ofimage capture devices on board a UAV.

FIGS. 5A, 5C, and 5B show a top view, bottom view, and side view(respectively) of an example UAV 500. As shown in FIGS. 5A-5C, theexample UAV 500 includes a body 502 and multiple rotor assemblies 513 a,513 b, 513 c, and 513 d. Each of the rotor assemblies 513 a-d mayinclude an image capture device and powered rotor as described, forexample, with respect to rotor assembly 413 in FIG. 4B or any of thealternative rotor assemblies in FIGS. 4D-4F. The UAV 500 also includesimage capture devices 517 a-b mounted to the body 502. Specifically,image capture device 517 a is upward-facing and image capture device 517b is downward-facing.

Notably, the multiple image capture devices included in the rotorassemblies 513 a-d and the body mounted image capture devices 517 a-bare arranged such that the UAV 500 includes three upward-facing imagecapture devices and three downward-facing image capture devices.Specifically, the upward-facing image capture devices include imagecapture device 517 a and the image capture devices of rotor assemblies513 a and 513 b. Similarly, the downward-facing image capture devicesinclude image capture device 517 b and the image capture devices ofrotor assemblies 513 c and 513 d. Note that rotor assemblies 513 a and513 b may represent inverted arrangements of similar rotor assemblies513 c and 513 d.

Each of the image capture devices of UAV 500 depicted in FIGS. 5A-5C mayinclude a single camera with a relatively wide (e.g., greater than 100degree) FOV. The upward and downward-facing image capture devices arearranged as two overlapping triangles. In other words, a first trio ofupward-facing image capture devices is arranged as a first triangleproviding upward-facing trinocular image capture (e.g., for accuratedepth estimation) and a second trio of downward-facing image capturedevices is arranged as a second triangle providing downward-facingtrinocular image capture (e.g., for accurate depth estimation). In someembodiments, the trio of upward-facing image capture devices may bearranged to enable trinocular stereoscopic vision in multiple directionssubstantially above the UAV and the trio of downward-facing imagecapture devices may be arranged to enable trinocular stereoscopic visionin multiple directions substantially below the UAV. Further, at leastsome of the upward-facing image capture devices and downward-facingimage capture devices may have overlapping fields of view if imagecapture devices with an FOV greater than 180 degrees are utilized. Thisarrangement, in which the upward and downward-facing cameras haveoverlapping FOV, allows for effective depth estimation up to a full 360degrees around the UAV, reduces the total number of cameras from twelve(as in UAV 100) to six or fewer, and can be exploited to calibrate theupward and downward-facing image capture devices.

As shown in FIGS. 5A-5C, the body 502 extends along a longitudinal axis590 from a first end (or “forward end”) to a second end (or “aft end”).Further, the body 502 has a first side (or “port side”) and a secondside (or “starboard side”), where the first and second sides areopposite the longitudinal axis 590. Still further, the body 502 has athird side (or “top side”) and a fourth side (or “bottom side”) that isopposite the third side. These relative orientations associated with thebody 502 are provided for illustrative purposes and are not to beconstrued as limiting. For example, although one end of the UAV 500 islabeled as a “forward end” this does not mean that the UAV 500 onlytravels forward in this direction.

In the example UAV 500 depicted in FIGS. 5A-5C, the body 502 is depictedas rectangular when viewed from above suggesting a cuboid structure,however it shall be understood that body 502 may have any shape of anydimension. In general, central body 502 may include walls that enclosean interior body space (not shown). For example, the area of centralbody 502 that is viewable in FIG. 5A may be a top wall that is generallylocated along the top side of the body 502. In this example, a first setof rotor assemblies 513 a and 513 c are arranged on one side (e.g., theport side) of the body 502 and are coupled to a first side wall (notshown) of central body 502. Similarly, a second set of rotor assemblies513 b and 513 d are arranged on the opposite side (e.g., the starboardside) of the body 502 and are coupled to a second side wall (not shown)of the body 502. Further, the body 502 may include a first end wall (notshown but located proximate to the forward end of the body 502) and asecond end wall opposite the first end wall (also not shown, but locatedproximate to the aft end of the body 502). As depicted in FIG. 5C, thevarious rotor assemblies 513 a-d may be aligned substantially along ahorizontal plane (e.g., that intersects longitudinal axis 590) relativeto the body 502. The interior space of the body 502 may accommodate, forexample, the image capture devices 517 a-b as well as other componentssuch as an onboard battery, other sensor devices (e.g., an IMU),computer processing components associated with an autonomous navigationsystem, payload storage, etc.

Similar to the rotor assemblies, the walls forming the body 502 of theUAV 500 may be manufactured of any material or combination of materialsthat are suitably durable and lightweight for use in an aerial vehicle.For example, in some embodiments, the walls of body 502 can be made ofplastic, metal (e.g., aluminum), carbon fiber, synthetic fiber, or somesort of composite material such as carbon fiber embedded in an epoxyresin. The actual materials used will depend on the performancerequirements of the UAV 500. The walls of the body of the UAV 500 may bemanufactured using any manufacturing process suited for the selectedmaterial. For example, in the case of plastic materials, the walls maybe manufactured using injection molding, extrusion molding, rotationalmolding, blow molding, 3D printing, milling, plastic welding,lamination, or any combination thereof. In the case of metal materials,the walls may be manufactured using machining, stamping, casting,forming, metal injection molding, CNC machining, or any combinationthereof. These are just example materials and manufacturing processesthat are provided for illustrative purposes and are not to be construedas limiting.

As previously mentioned, to enable for trinocular image capture aboveand below the UAV 502, the rotor assemblies 513 a-d with integratedimage capture devices and body mounted image capture devices 517 a-b arearranged such that the UAV 500 includes three upward-facing imagecapture devices and three downward-facing image capture devices.

In the example UAV 500, a first rotor assembly 513 a extends from theport side of the body 502 and a second rotor assembly 513 b extends fromthe starboard side. The first and second rotor assemblies 513 a and 513b are substantially aligned with each other on opposite sides of thebody 502 and are located proximate to the forward end of the body 502.Notably, the first and second rotor assemblies are oriented such thatassociated image capture devices are on a top side and the associatedrotors are on a bottom side. Specifically, the first rotor assembly 513a includes a first image capture device 514 a that is arranged on a topside of the first rotor assembly 513 a and a first rotor 510 a that isarranged on a bottom side of the first rotor assembly 513 a. Similarly,the second rotor assembly 513 b includes a second image capture device514 b that is arranged on a top side of the second rotor assembly 513 band a second rotor 510 b that is arranged on a bottom side of the secondrotor assembly 513 b.

A third rotor assembly 513 c extends from the port side of the body 502and a fourth rotor assembly 513 d extends from the starboard side. Thethird and fourth rotor assemblies 513 c and 513 d are substantiallyaligned with each other on opposite sides of the body 502 and arelocated proximate to the aft end of the body 502. Notably, the third andfourth rotor assemblies are oriented such that associated image capturedevices are on a bottom side and the associated rotors are on a topside. Specifically, the third rotor assembly 513 c includes a thirdimage capture device 514 c that is arranged on a bottom side of thethird rotor assembly 513 c and a third rotor 510 c that is arranged on atop side of the third rotor assembly 513 c. Similarly, the fourth rotorassembly 513 d includes a fourth image capture device 514 d that isarranged on a bottom side of the fourth rotor assembly 513 d and afourth rotor 510 d that is arranged on a top side of the fourth rotorassembly 513 d.

The fifth image capture device (i.e., image capture device 517 a) isarranged along a top surface of body 502 proximate to the aft end and issubstantially aligned with the longitudinal axis 590 of the UAV 500 asshown in FIGS. 5A-5C. Similarly, a sixth image capture device (i.e.,image capture device 517 b) is arranged along a bottom surface of body502 proximate to the forward end and is substantially aligned with thelongitudinal axis 590.

The first and second image capture devices 514 a-b together with thefifth image capture device 517 a form a first triangle of upward-facingimage capture devices that enable trinocular image capture in aplurality of directions above the UAV 500. Similarly, the third andfourth image capture devices 514 c-d, together with the sixth imagecapture device 517 b, form a second triangle of downward-facing imagecapture devices that enable trinocular image capture in a plurality ofdirections below the UAV 500.

In some embodiments, a gimbaled image capture device can be coupled to aUAV to allow for capturing images of a subject in the physicalenvironment. For example, FIGS. 6A and 6B show a top view and side view(respectively) of an example UAV 600 that is similar to UAV 500, exceptthat it includes a gimbaled image capture device 615. The gimbaled imagecapture device 615 may be similar to image capture device 115 describedwith respect to UAV 100 in that it includes one or more cameras (e.g.,high resolution cameras) configured for capturing images of thesurrounding physical environment for later display and in that thecameras are coupled to the body 602 of the UAV 600 via one or moremechanical gimbals. The one or more mechanical gimbals of the gimbaledimage capture device 615 enable changes in orientation of the one ormore cameras about one or more axes relative to the body 602. In someembodiments, the image capture device 615 may include a hybriddigital-mechanical gimbal system as previously described.

Otherwise, similar to UAV 500, example UAV 600 includes threeupward-facing image capture devices (image capture device 617 a mountedto body 602 and the integrated image capture devices of rotor assemblies613 a and 613 b) and three downward-facing image capture devices (imagecapture device 617 b and the integrated image capture devices of rotorassemblies 613 c and 613 d). In this example, the three upward-facingimage capture devices and three downward-facing image capture devicesmay be utilized for visual navigation, while the gimbaled image capturedevice 615 is utilized to capture images of the surrounding physicalenvironment for later display.

Notably, the gimbaled image capture device 615 is depicted in FIGS.6A-6B as coupled to a first end wall of the body 602 of the UAV 600. Inother words, the gimbaled image capture device 615 coupled to the body602 proximate to the forward end of the body 602. This is an examplearrangement provided for illustrative purposes and is not to beconstrued as limiting. In other embodiments, the gimbaled image capturedevice 615 may be arranged at a different location on the body of theUAV. However, the example arrangement depicted in FIGS. 6A-6B isadvantageous in several respects. First, coupling the gimbaled imagecapture device 615 to an end wall of the body 602 instead of a bottomwall of the body 602 results in a narrower side profile for the UAV 600,for example, as illustrated in FIG. 6B. This narrower profile allows foreasier storage and transport and may help to avoid obstacles in thephysical environment. Second, coupling the gimbaled image capture device615 to an end wall of the body 602, instead of a bottom wall of the body602, allows the UAV 600 to land on the ground without damaging thegimbaled image capture device 615 and without the need for extraneouslanding gear that adds weight and may affect flight dynamics. Third,coupling the gimbaled image capture device 615 to an end wall of thebody 602 instead of a bottom wall of the body 602 keeps the gimbaledimage capture device substantially out of the fields of view of theupward-facing and downward-facing image capture devices that are usedfor visual navigation (i.e., image capture devices 617 a-b and the imagecapture devices associated with rotor assemblies 613 a-d). Placing thegimbaled image capture device 615 along a bottom wall of the body 602may obfuscate image capture by at least the downward-facing imagecapture device 617 b.

As previously mentioned, the body and rotor assemblies may be arrangeddifferently in other embodiments. FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C show a top view,bottom view, and side view (respectively) of an example UAV 700 thatincludes a first body component 702 a that includes multipleupward-facing image capture devices 717 a, 718 a, and 718 b, and asecond body component 702 b that includes multiple downward-facing imagecapture devices 717 b, 718 c, and 718 d.

Specifically, the first body component 702 a includes or is otherwisecoupled to rotor assemblies 713 a and 713 b, and the second bodycomponent 702 b includes or is otherwise coupled to rotor assemblies 713c and 713 d. In other words, the multiple upward-facing image capturedevices include image capture devices 718 a and 718 b that are arrangedon top surfaces of rotor assemblies 713 a and 713 b (respectively), andanother upward-facing image capture device 717 a that is arranged on atop surface of the first body component 702 a substantially along acentral axis of the UAV 700 proximate to the aft end of the UAV 700. Inthe example depicted in FIGS. 7A-7C, these multiple upward-facing imagecapture devices associated with the first body component 702 a form afirst triangle of image capture devices that are arranged to enabletrinocular image capture in multiple directions substantially above theUAV 700, while in flight.

Similarly, the multiple downward-facing image capture devices includeimage capture devices 718 c and 718 d that are arranged on bottomsurfaces of rotor assemblies 713 c and 713 d (respectively) and anotherdownward-facing image capture device 717 b that is arranged on a bottomsurface of the second body component 702 b substantially along thecentral axis of the UAV 700 proximate to the forward end of the UAV 700.In the example depicted in FIGS. 7A-7C, these multiple downward-facingimage capture devices associated with the second body component 702 bform a second triangle of image capture devices that overlap with thefirst triangle and that are arranged to enable trinocular image capturein multiple directions substantially below the UAV 700, while in flight.

In some embodiments, to simplify manufacture and parts replacement, thefirst body component (including rotor assemblies 713 a-b) may besubstantially similar (in dimension and/or shape) to the second bodycomponent 702 b (including rotor assemblies 713 c-d) and may be coupledto each other in an overlapping and opposing manner, for example, asmore clearly illustrated in FIG. 7C. As shown in FIG. 7C, the first bodycomponent 702 a includes upward-facing image capture devices anddownward-facing rotors and is coupled to a substantially similar secondbody component 702 b that is arranged upside-down relative to the firstbody component 702 a so as to include downward-facing image capturedevices and upward-facing rotors.

The body components 702 a-b may be manufactured using any of thematerials or manufacturing processes described with respect to body 502of example UAV 500. In some embodiments, the body components 702 a-b maycollectively represent a unitary body. In other words, the two bodycomponents 702 a and 702 b may represent a single part that is formed ofa single piece of material despite the separate component callouts inFIGS. 7A-7C. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the two body components702 a and 702 b may be formed separately and affixed together, forexample, using mechanical fasteners (e.g., clips, screws, bolts, etc.),adhesives (e.g., glue, tape, etc.), welding, or any other suitableprocess for affixing parts together.

Further, although not depicted in FIGS. 7A-7C, in some embodiments, aUAV similar to UAV 700 may be configured to include a gimbaled imagecapture device affixed to one end of the UAV 700, for example, asdepicted in FIGS. 6A and 6B. For example, a gimbaled image capturedevice may be affixed to an end wall of either the first body component702 a or the second body component 702 b.

In some embodiments, more than one camera can be integrated into a givenrotor assembly. FIG. 8A shows a perspective detail view of an examplerotor assembly 813 that is similar to rotor assembly 413 depicted inFIG. 4B, except that it includes both an upward-facing camera anddownward-facing camera. As shown in FIG. 8A, the example rotor assembly813 includes a first housing component 804 a and a second housingcomponent 804 b on opposite sides of the plane of rotation of thepowered rotor 810. Both housing components 804 a-b include walls thatsubstantially surround an interior space within which components such asa motor 811, a first image capture device 814 a, and second imagecapture device 814 b are arranged. Specifically, in the example rotorassembly 813 depicted in FIG. 8A, an upward-facing image capture device814 a is arranged within the interior space of the first housingcomponent 804 a and both a motor 811 and downward-facing image capturedevice 814 b are arranged within the interior space of the secondhousing component 804 b. The example rotor assembly 813 may be coupledto the body of a UAV via a support arm 803.

FIG. 8B shows a sectional view of the rotor assembly 813 depicted inFIG. 8A. As shown in FIG. 8B, the first housing component 804 a maycomprise one or more walls 824 a that substantially enclose a firstinterior space 826 a. Similarly, the second housing component 804 b maycomprise one or more walls 824 b that substantially enclose a secondinterior space 826 b. The walls 824 a-b of housing components 804 a-bmay be manufactured of any suitable material using any suitablemanufacturing process similar to walls 424 of rotor assembly 413.Further, although the housing components 804 a-b are depicted in FIGS.8A-8B as substantially cylindrical in shape, this is an example shapeprovided for illustrative purposes and is not to be construed aslimiting. Other embodiments may include rotor housing components ofdifferent shapes, for example, to accommodate interior components, foraerodynamic purposes, and/or aesthetic considerations.

A first image capture device 814 a is arranged within the first interiorspace 826 a of the first housing component 804 a. Specifically, thefirst image capture device 814 a is arranged within the first interiorspace 826 a proximate to a first end (or “top side”) of the firsthousing component 804 a and oriented such that light is received throughan opening in the top side of the first housing component 804 a. Forexample, the first image capture device 814 a may include a lens 834 athat extends from the top side of the first housing component 804 a suchthat the first image capture device 814 a captures images of thephysical environment above the rotor assembly 813, while in use. Inother words, the first image capture device 814 a is an upward-facingimage capture device.

The motor 811 and a second image capture device 814 b are arrangedwithin the second interior space 826 b of the second housing component804 b. Specifically, the motor 811 is arranged within the secondinterior space 826 b proximate to the top side of the second housingcomponent 804 b and the second image capture device 814 b is arrangedwithin the second interior space 826 b proximate to a second end (or“bottom side”) of the second housing component 804 b that is oppositethe first end. Further, the motor 811 is oriented such that the attachedrotor blades 810 extend from the top side of the second housingcomponent 804 b. Conversely, the second image capture device 814 b isoriented such that light is received through an opening in the bottomside of the second housing component 804 b. For example, the secondimage capture device 814 b may include a lens 834 b that extends fromthe bottom side of the second housing component 804 b such that thesecond image capture device 814 b captures images of the physicalenvironment below the rotor assembly 813, while in use. In other words,the second image capture device 814 b is a downward-facing image capturedevice. Note that the orientations of elements described with respect tothe rotor assembly 813 depicted in FIG. 8B are relative and are providedas examples for illustrative purposes. In some embodiments, a similarrotor assembly may be oriented in an opposite direction.

For illustrative purposes, the motor 811 is depicted in FIG. 8B in theform of a brushless “outrunner” motor similar to motor 411 describedwith respect to rotor assembly 413. However, as with motor 411, motor811 may be any type of motor capable of applying a torque to rotate therotor blades 810. In the example depicted in FIG. 8B, motor 811 includesa movable first motor assembly and a stationary second motor assemblythat includes an axle 860 about which the movable first motor assemblyrotates. The first motor assembly is referred to as “moveable” becauseit is attached to the rotor blades 810 and rotates about the axle 860 ofthe stationary second motor assembly, when in use, thereby rotating therotor blades 810.

The movable first motor assembly of motor 811 includes walls 840, 841that form a first motor housing similar to walls 440, 441 of motor 411.Similarly, the second motor assembly includes walls 842, 843 that form asecond motor housing similar to walls 442, 443 of motor 411.

The first motor assembly of motor 811 further includes an axle bearing862 coupled to the first motor housing, and a stator stack arrangedaround the axle bearing 862. Note that the components of the statorstack of motor 811 are not specifically called out in FIG. 8B but mayinclude the same or similar components as the stator stack for motor411. Axle bearing 862 is intended to accommodate the previouslymentioned axle 860 such that axle 860 is freely rotatable within axlebearing 862. Axle bearing 862 may be of any type suitable to allow forrotation of axle 860. For example, in an embodiment, axle bearing 862 isa plain bearing including a generally cylindrical hollow space withinwhich the shaft of axle 860 can rotate. In some embodiments, axlebearing 862 includes rolling elements such as ball bearings arrangedbetween generally cylindrical races.

Notably, the axle bearing 862 is hollow along axis 880 such that thefirst housing component 804 a can be affixed to the rest of the rotorassembly 813 above the plane of rotation of rotors 810. In other words,axle 860, to which the first housing component 804 a is affixed, remainsstationary while the first motor assembly of motor 811 (i.e., includingwalls 840, 841) rotates about axis 880 to rotate rotors 810 that areaffixed to the axle bearing 862. In some embodiments, the axle 860 mayhave a hollow construction to enable wires (e.g., for power and/or datatransfer) to pass through to connect first image capture device 814 a toprocessing components on board the UAV.

As with the example rotor assembly 413 described with respect to FIGS.4B-4C, rotor assembly 813 may also include one or more isolatorcomponents or systems to isolate the image capture devices 814 a-b fromeffects of the operation of motor 811, such as vibration andelectromagnetic interference. Specifically, the example rotor assembly813 includes a first isolator system 870 a to isolate the first imagecapture device 814 a from vibration and/or electromagnetic interferencecause by the motor 811. The example rotor assembly 813 also includes asecond isolator system 870 b to isolate the second image capture device814 b from vibration and/or electromagnetic interference cause by themotor 811. Isolator systems 870 a-b may include any one or more of theisolator components described with respect to isolator system 470 suchas active/passive motion dampeners and/or electromagnetic shielding.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show a top view and side view (respectively) of anexample UAV 900 that includes multiple rotor assemblies 913 a-d that aresimilar to the rotor assembly 813 depicted in FIGS. 8A-8B. As shown inFIGS. 9A-9B, each of the rotor assemblies 913 a-d of the example UAV 900include an upward-facing image capture device and a downward-facingimage capture device. Accordingly, the example UAV 900 includes fourupward-facing cameras and four downward-facing cameras for a total ofeight cameras. By placing the cameras in the rotor assemblies 913 a-c,additional space is freed up in the body 902 of the UAV 900. Note thatthe example UAV 900 depicted in FIGS. 9A-9B includes four total rotorassemblies 913 a-d, each with an upward-facing and downward-facing imagecapture device; however, this is not to be construed as limiting. Forexample, an alternative embodiment (not shown) may include only threerotor assemblies 913 a-c, which would still provide three totalupward-facing image capture devices and three downward-facing imagecapture devices for trinocular vision in both directions.

In some embodiments, as few as two image capture devices may be utilizedto facilitate autonomous visual navigation. FIGS. 10A and 10B show a topview and side view (respectively) of an example UAV 1000 that includesonly two image capture devices, an upward-facing image capture device1017 a and downward-facing image capture device 1017 b, both mounted tothe body 1002 of UAV 1000. Although not stereoscopic, the upward-facingand downward-facing image capture devices 1017 a-b may be utilized togather depth estimations, for example, by processing multiple imagescaptured when the UAV 1000 is at different positions and/ororientations.

In some embodiments, image capture devices may instead be coupled to thebody of a UAV at opposing ends and oriented to capture images in frontof and behind the UAV. FIGS. 10C-10D show a top view and side view(respectively) of an example UAV 1000 c that includes two total imagecapture devices, a front-facing image capture device 1018 a and a backfacing image capture device 1018 b, both mounted to opposing ends of thebody 1002 c of the UAV 1000 c.

Adding additional image capture devices may improve depth estimationaccuracy. FIGS. 11A-11B show a top view and side view (respectively) ofan example UAV 1100 that is similar to UAV 1000 except that it includestwo upward-facing image capture devices 1117 a-b and two downward-facingimage capture devices 1117 c-d, all mounted to the body 1102 of UAV1100. UAV 1100 a would be capable of stereoscopic image capture aboveand below the UAV 1100.

In some embodiments, the two upward-facing image capture devices and twodownward-facing image capture devices may be arranged in or on rotorassemblies instead of in a central body to free up space in the centralbody. For example, FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C show a top view, bottom view,and side view (respectively) of an example UAV 1200 that is similar tothe UAV 500 depicted in FIGS. 5A-5C expect that it does not includebody-mounted image capture devices similar to image capture devices 517a-b of UAV 500. As shown in FIGS. 12A-12C, the example UAV 1200 includesa body 1202 and multiple rotor assemblies 1213 a, 1213 b, 1213 c, and1213 d. Each of the rotor assemblies 1213 a-d may include an imagecapture device and powered rotor as described, for example, with respectto rotor assembly 413 in FIG. 4B or any of the alternative rotorassemblies in FIGS. 4D-4F.

In the example UAV 1200, a first rotor assembly 1213 a extends from theport side of the body 1202 and a second rotor assembly 1213 b extendsfrom the starboard side. The first and second rotor assemblies 1213 aand 1213 b are substantially aligned with each other on opposite sidesof the body 1202 and are located proximate to the forward end of thebody 1202. Notably, the first and second rotor assemblies are orientedsuch that associated image capture devices are on a top side and theassociated rotors are on a bottom side. Specifically, the first rotorassembly 1213 a includes a first image capture device 1214 a that isarranged on a top side of the first rotor assembly 513 a and a firstrotor 1210 a that is arranged on a bottom side of the first rotorassembly 1213 a. Similarly, the second rotor assembly 1213 b includes asecond image capture device 1214 b that is arranged on a top side of thesecond rotor assembly 1213 b and a second rotor 1210 b that is arrangedon a bottom side of the second rotor assembly 1213 b.

A third rotor assembly 1213 c extends from the port side of the body1202 and a fourth rotor assembly 213 d extends from the starboard side.The third and fourth rotor assemblies 1213 c and 1213 d aresubstantially aligned with each other on opposite sides of the body 1202and are located proximate to the aft end of the body 1202. Notably, thethird and fourth rotor assemblies are oriented such that associatedimage capture devices are on a bottom side and the associated rotors areon a top side. Specifically, the third rotor assembly 1213 c includes athird image capture device 514 c that is arranged on a bottom side ofthe third rotor assembly 1213 c and a third rotor 1210 c that isarranged on a top side of the third rotor assembly 1213 c. Similarly,the fourth rotor assembly 1213 d includes a fourth image capture device1214 d that is arranged on a bottom side of the fourth rotor assembly1213 d and a fourth rotor 1210 d that is arranged on a top side of thefourth rotor assembly 1213 d.

In some embodiments, a UAV with only two upward-facing and two-downwardfacing image capture device (e.g., UAVs 1100 and 1200) may be configuredto still achieve stereoscopic capture in multiple directions by, forexample, adjusting the angles of the various image capture devices. Forexample, with reference to UAV 1200, the first image capture device 1214a may be arranged at an angle towards the third rotor assembly 1213 cand the third image capture device 1214 c may be arranged at an angletowards the first rotor assembly 1213 a. Although the first imagecapture device 1214 a and the third image capture device 1213 c point insubstantially opposite directions (i.e., upwards and downwards), aslight angle towards each other may be sufficient to provide a stereobaseline between the two.

FIGS. 5A-12C depict several example embodiments of UAVs with varyingarrangements of image capture devices. These embodiments are providedfor illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as limiting. Otherembodiments may include more or fewer image capture devices than aredepicted, may arrange the image capture devices differently, may includemore or fewer rotor assemblies, may arrange the rotor assembliesdifferently, may combine one or more features of the depictedembodiments, etc.

Protective Structure for Image Capture Devices

Arranging the image capture devices as shown in any one or more of theexample UAVs of FIGS. 5A-12C can expose the image capture devices todamage due to contact with the ground when the UAV lands, or contactwith other objects while the UAV is in flight. To protect the imagecapture device from damage, a protective element can be added to offsetthe image capture device from any surface such as the ground. FIG. 13shows a side view of an example assembly 1313 that includes such aprotective element. Specifically, the example assembly 1313 includes anarm 1303 and rotor housing 1304 that houses a rotor 1310 and adownward-facing image capture device 1314, for example, similar to therotor assembly 413 described with respect to FIGS. 4A-4B. The exampleassembly further includes a protective structural element 1390 that isarranged along a surface of the UAV, for example, along a surface ofhousing 1304 and/or arm 1303 in proximity to the image capture device1314 such that an outer surface of the image capture device 1314 (e.g.,a lens) does not contact a surface 1380 (e.g., the ground) when the UAVcontacts the surface 1380.

The protective structural element 1390 is depicted in FIG. 13 as havinga wedge or fin shape; however, this is an example provided forillustrative purposes and is not to be construed as limiting. The sizeand shape of the protective structural element will depend on thespecifics of the aircraft such as the weight, size, type of imagecapture devices, etc. Further, similar protective structural element canbe arranged in proximity to other image capture devices that are not onthe underside of the vehicle. For example, a similar protective elementmay be arranged on a top surface of a rotor assembly or a body of a UAVto protect an upward facing image capture device.

The protective structural element 1390 may be manufactured of anymaterial or combination of materials that are suitably durable andlightweight for use in an aerial vehicle. For example, in someembodiments, the protective structural element 1390 can be made ofplastic, metal (e.g., aluminum), carbon fiber, synthetic fiber, or somesort of composite material such as carbon fiber embedded in an epoxyresin. The actual materials used will depend on the performancerequirements of a given embodiment. The protective structural element1390 may be manufactured using any manufacturing process suited for theselected material. For example, in the case of plastic materials, theprotective structural element 1390 may be manufactured using injectionmolding, extrusion molding, rotational molding, blow molding, 3Dprinting, milling, plastic welding, lamination, or any combinationthereof. In the case of metal materials, the protective structuralelement 1390 may be manufactured using machining, stamping, casting,forming, metal injection molding, CNC machining, or any combinationthereof. These are just example materials and manufacturing processesthat are provided for illustrative purposes and are not to be construedas limiting.

In some embodiments, the protective structural element 1390 mayrepresent a portion of an exterior surface of a UAV. For example, thewalls of any of the rotor housing 1304 and/or the rotor arm 1303 may bemanufactured to include a portion that extends, for example, as depictedin FIG. 13. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the protectivestructural element 1390 may be manufactured as a separate part andaffixed to an exterior surface of a UAV, for example, using mechanicalfasteners (e.g., clips, screws, bolts, etc.), adhesives (e.g., glue,tape, etc.), welding, or any other suitable process for affixing partstogether.

In some embodiments, a protective structural element similar to element1390 may be arranged proximate to each of one or more image capturedevices of a UAV. This may include upward-facing image capture devicesto protect such device from contact with the ground, for example, if theUAV lands upside down, or from contact with other surfaces above theUAV, such as a ceiling or the underside of a bridge. In someembodiments, the protective structural element 1390 may represent a partof a bezel or frame that is installed flush with a surface associatedwith the UAV and around a lens of an image capture device.

Removable Rotor Blades

The propellers on certain UAVs (e.g., quadcopter drones) are oftenconsidered to be consumable because they are the most likely part of theaircraft to be damaged in the event of a collision with another object.Accordingly, manufacturers of such UAVs typically design the propellersto be user replaceable in the field, without the need of any kind oftools and with a minimum of effort. There are currently two widely usedmethods of attaching propellers to drones that meet this need. The firstis by using a separate, easy to hand-tighten, propeller nut that threadsonto the propeller shaft or equivalent structure, pinching the propellerin place. This method has the downside of needing a small separate part(i.e., the propeller nut), that if lost, renders the UAV unusable, andhas a tendency to spontaneously loosen and come off when subjected torotational and vibrational loads. Such a propeller nut also requiresfrequent re-tightening or exotic, left-handed threads. The second methoduses a bayonet lock to attach a propeller directly to a motor. Sincethis method relies on a spring to keep the propeller seated in itslocked position, the propeller cannot be relied upon to undergo anyloading that would push back against this spring, and so cannot be usedin a pusher configuration or for three-dimensional flight, where thepropeller is run in both directions for maximum maneuverability. Animproved technique for removable rotor blades is described below toaddress these challenges.

FIG. 14A shows an example rotor assembly 1400 a that includes removablerotor blades. As shown in FIG. 14A, the rotor assembly includes a motor1410 (e.g., an electric motor) that spins, when powered. Coupled to thespinning portion of the motor 1410 are one or more pins 1430 a-b. Theone or more pins 1430 a-b are configured to detachably couple toremovable rotor blades 1440 a-b. For example, as shown in FIG. 14A, eachremovable rotor blade 1440 a-b may include a keyhole shaped slot 1442a-b (respectively) through an attachment portion of the rotor blade 1440a-b. Removable rotor blade 1440 a is shown in an installed position,while removable rotor blade 1440 b is shown in a removed position.Notably, the keyhole shaped slots 1442 a-b and corresponding pins 1430a-b may be configured such that the blades 1440 a-b are easy to removeand replace without any tools. As indicated by the arrows in FIG. 14A,each rotor blade 1440 a-b can be secured in place by bringing the widestportion of the keyhole slot 1442 a-b down over the head of the pin 1430a-b and then pulling laterally to lock the removable blade 1440 a-b inplace. The keyhole shaped slots 1442 a-b and corresponding pins 1430 a-bmay be further configured such that, when in use, a centrifugal forceeffect caused by the rotation of the motor 1410 helps to keep the rotorblades 1440 a-b secured in place.

In some embodiments, the pins 1430 a-b may be shaped and/or sizeddifferently based on the type and/or arrangement of the motor 1410 toforce proper installation by the user. For example, as previouslydescribed (e.g., with respect to UAV 500 in FIGS. 5A-5B), in someembodiments, a UAV may include one or more inverted rotors (e.g., todirect an integrated camera upward). In such embodiments, the pins onthe inverted (i.e., downward-facing) motors may be shaped and/or sideddifferently than the pins on the upward-facing motors so as to force auser to install the proper rotor blades (e.g., clockwise vs.counterclockwise blades) on each motor.

The keyhole/pin attachment mechanism depicted in FIG. 14A is just anexample provided for illustrative purposes. Other non-screw attachmentmechanisms may similarly be implemented. For example, FIGS. 14B and 14Cshow a perspective view and top view (respectively) of another examplerotor assembly 1400 b that includes removable rotor blades. In theexample rotor assembly 1400 b depicted in FIGS. 14B and 14C, lockingfeatures 1410 c on the innermost ends of individual propeller blades1420 c are lowered axially into a central mounting socket 1430 c and arethen pulled radially outward to lock them into place. In this lockedposition the propeller blades 1420 c are accurately and rigidly locatedby a small taper-angle interface with the central mounting socket 1430c. This radially engaged connection ensures that the blades 1420 c areproperly seated in the socket as soon as the motor 1440 c spins up, andthe centrifugal loading forces imposed on the blades 1420 c helps tosecure the blades correctly in position. Once properly seated, theblades 1420 c are prevented from coming loose by a small spring drivenmember 1450 c in the middle of the central socket 1430 c that pops upand does not allow the blades 1420 c to move far enough radially inwardto disengage from the tabs that form the part of the socket 1430 c thatholds the blades 1420 c in place. To remove a propeller blade 1420 c(e.g., in the event that it is damaged and needs to be replaced), theuser can press down on this spring driven member 1450 c to lower it outof the way, and then push the blade 1420 c radially inward until itdisengages and can then be lifted axially out of the socket 1430 c.

The techniques for removable propeller attachments depicted in FIGS.14A-14C allow for the replacement of individual propeller blades insteadof replacing an entire propeller assembly. The blades are held securelyagainst loading in any direction and so can be used in pull-propeller,push-propeller, and three-dimensional flight configurations. Since thesecurity of the mounting technique only increases as the propeller spinsup, there is no risk of the propeller becoming loose over time as thereis with a propeller nut arrangement. The number of blades that can besecured by this method is only limited by the size of the centralsocket. In some embodiments, folding propellers can be implemented byintegrating a pivot joint into the propeller blade next to the innermostlocking features.

Removable Battery Pack as a Launch Handle

In some embodiments, an autonomous UAV can be configured to launch andland from a user's hand. Such operation may require a prominent featuresuch as a handle on the UAV so that a person can easily grip the UAVduring launch or landing. However, a prominent handle for launch andlanding may negatively impact the transportability of the UAV. Instead,such a handle can be configured as a detachable component of the UAV.Further, in some embodiments, the detachable handle component can beconfigured to house a removable battery pack for powering the UAV.

FIG. 15A shows a side view of an example UAV 1500 that includes aremovable battery pack that is configured to be utilized as a handle forlaunching from, and landing into, the hand of a user. Specifically, FIG.15A shows a battery pack 1550 configured to detachably couple to aportion (e.g., the underside) of the body 1502 of the UAV 1500. FIG. 15Bshows the battery pack 1550 separated from the body 1502 of the UAV1500. Notably, the body 1502 of the UAV 1500 may have a low (i.e., thin)profile such that when the battery pack 1550 is detached, the UAV 1500can be easily stored or transported.

FIG. 15C shows how a user 102 may hold the UAV 1500 by gripping thebattery pack component 1550 during launch and landing of the UAV 1500.Note that the battery pack component 1550 is depicted in FIGS. 15A-15Cas having a rectangular shape; however, this is for illustrativesimplicity. The battery pack component 1550 may be shaped differently,for example, to accommodate both ergonomic and aerodynamicconsiderations. In some embodiments, a housing of the battery packcomponent 1550 may include textured surface elements to help a user gripthe UAV 1500 during launch and landing.

In some embodiments, the removable battery pack component 1550 can bedetachably coupled (both structurally and electrically) to the body 1502of the UAV 1500 using one or more magnetic contacts/couplings. Inaddition to facilitating easy attaching and detaching of the batterypack 1550, a magnetic coupling also has the added benefit of allowingthe battery pack 1550 to self-eject if the UAV 1500 runs into anobstacle while in flight. Allowing the battery pack 1550 (likely one ofthe more massive components on board the UAV) to eject upon impact mayhelp to absorb some of the energy of the impact, thereby avoidingextensive damage to the body 1502 of the UAV 1500.

In some embodiments, a removable battery pack 1550 may include userinterface features, for example, to allow a user to provide a controlinput to the UAV. In such embodiments, the user interface features(e.g., in the form of an input device) may be communicatively coupled toan internal control system (e.g., navigation system 120) of the UAV, forexample, via the detachable magnetic contacts. FIG. 15D shows a sideview of an example UAV 1500 d similar to UAV 1500, but with a userinterface component on the battery pack. As shown in FIG. 15D, aremovable battery pack component 1550 d includes a user interfacecomponent 1552 d and is detachably coupled to the underside of the body1502 d of the UAV 1500 d. In some embodiments, the user interfacecomponent 1552 d may comprise a single launch button, which when pressedby a user causes the UAV 1500 d to launch and enter autonomous flight.Other embodiments may include more complex user interface features, suchas additional input devices to set certain flight parameters/constraints(e.g., flight mode, follow distance, altitude, etc.). In someembodiments, the user interface component 1500 d may comprise a touchscreen display through which various contextual user interfaces can bedisplayed.

Gimbal Fastener

As previously discussed, a UAV may include a gimbaled image capturedevice (e.g., image capture device 115) configured for capturing images(including video) for later viewing. The gimbaled image capture devicemay be coupled to the body of the UAV via a gimbal mechanism that allowsthe image capture device to change position and/or orientation relativeto the body of the UAV, for example, for image stabilization and/orsubject tracking. FIG. 16A shows a top view of an example UAV 1600 thatincludes a gimbaled image capture device 1615 coupled to the body 1602via a gimbal mechanism with two mechanical degrees of freedom.Specifically, the gimbal mechanism 1625 provides for rotation of theimage capture device 1615 about axis 1630 a and axis 1630 b, forexample, through the use of electronic servo motors.

FIG. 16B shows a side view of the image capture device 1615 and gimbalmechanism 1625 assembly that illustrates rotation about axis 1630 a.Similarly, FIG. 16C shows a front view of the image capture device 1615and gimbal mechanism 1625 assembly that illustrates rotation about axis1630 b. During use, the gimbal mechanism 1625 is operable to rotateabout the two axes within certain constraints. For example, whenpowered, the angle θ of rotation of the gimbal mechanism 1625 about axis1630 a may be limited to plus or minus 45 degrees. Similarly, whenpowered, the angle φ of rotation of the gimbal mechanism 1625 about axis1630 b may be limited to plus or minus 45 degrees.

When not powered (i.e., when the UAV is off), the servo motors of thegimbal mechanism 1625 do not operate, thereby allowing the gimbalmechanism 1625 to freely rotate about the axes 1630 a-b. Such freedom ofmotion may be problematic during storage or transport, as it may lead todamage of the attached image capture device 1615, the gimbal mechanism1625, and/or the body 1602 of the UAV 1600. A gimbal locking mechanismcan be implemented to secure the gimbal mechanism 1625 (and connectedcamera 1615) in place when the UAV is powered off.

FIGS. 16D and 16E illustrate the operation of a locking mechanism thatcan be utilized to secure the gimbal 1625 and associated image capturedevice 1615 in place when the UAV 1600 is powered off. Specifically,FIG. 16D shows a side view (e.g., similar to FIG. 16B) of the imagecapture device 1615 and gimbal 1625 assembly. The assembly furtherincludes a first locking component 1616 attached to the image capturedevice 1615 (specifically the opposite side of image capture device 1615as indicated by the broken line) and a second locking component 1626attached to the gimbal 1625. The first locking component 1616 and secondlocking component 1625 are arranged to interact with each other when theimage capture device 1625 is rotated past the typical range of motion(e.g., plus or minus 45 degrees). For example, as shown in FIG. 16E, thefirst locking component 1616 and second locking component 1625 arearranged to interact with each other when the image capture device 1615is rotated about axis 1630 a approximately 180 degrees to facebackwards.

The first locking component 1616 and second locking component 1625 maycomprise, for example, opposing mechanical clips, opposing magnets, orany other types of elements configured to detachably couple to eachother to prevent rotation of the image capture device 1615 about axis1630 a relative to the gimbal 1625 when the UAV 1600 is not powered.

Although not depicted in the figures, similar locking components can beutilized to prevent rotation about axis 1630 b, or any other motion bythe image capture device 1615 not depicted in the figures.

In some embodiments, a UAV may be configured with an auto-stowingfeature that causes the motors of the gimbal mechanism 1625 toautomatically actuate to rotate the attached image capture device 1615into a locking position, for example, prior to powering down, inresponse to an environmental condition (e.g., high winds), in responseto a system status (e.g., low battery or tracking/calibration errors),or in response to user input to secure the gimbal.

Fixed-Wing Configurations

In some embodiments, an autonomous UAV may be configured as a fixed-wingaircraft. FIG. 17 shows a top view of an example UAV 1700 that includesfixed flight surfaces 1702. The example UAV 1700 shown in FIG. 17 isdepicted in a “flying wing” configuration in which the body and flightsurfaces (i.e., wings) are integrated. Other embodiments may include adistinct body (i.e., fuselage) and distinct flight surfaces (e.g.,wings, tails, stabilizers, etc.). The example UAV 1700 also includes apropulsion system which comprises two powered rotors 1710 mounted to thefixed flight surface 1702. Other embodiments may include more or fewerrotors, other types of engines (e.g., jet engines) instead of rotors,and/or may arrange the engines differently. The example UAV 1700 alsoincludes control surfaces 1730 associated with the fixed flightsurfaces. Control surfaces 1730 can include, for example, ailerons,flaps, slats, rudders, elevators, spoilers, etc. The control surfaces1730 of example UAV 1700 depicted in FIG. 17 comprise two tailingcontrol surfaces in the fixed flight surface 1702 that when actuated,may operate as a combination of any of the aforementioned types ofcontrol surfaces.

FIG. 18 shows a basic flight profile of an example UAV 1700 configuredfor vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL). As shown in FIG. 18, the UAV1700 may launch vertically. During launch, lift is provided primarily bythe rotors. As the UAV 1700 builds speed, it gradually transitions tohorizontal flight, where lift is provided primarily by the fixed flightsurfaces. When landing, the example UAV 1700 again transitions to avertical orientation, where lift is provided primarily by the rotors. Insome embodiments, the UAV 1700 may include variable pitch rotors and/orrotor blades that are adjusted during periods of transition betweenvertical takeoff/landing and normal flight.

A fixed-wing UAV can include an autonomous visual navigation systemsimilar to the visual navigation system 120 depicted in FIG. 2. Similarto UAV 100, a fixed-wing UAV may include one or more navigation camerasfor visual navigation, as well as one or more subject cameras forcapturing images of the surrounding physical environment. FIG. 19A showsan example fixed-wing UAV 1900 a similar to UAV 1700 depicted in FIG.17. As shown in FIG. 19A, the example UAV 1900 a includes two imagecapture devices 1918 a-b on opposing ends of the fixed flight surface1902. Similar to the image capture devices described with respect toFIGS. 4A-11B, image capture devices 1918 a-b may be configured tocapture a wide (e.g., at least 180 degree) FOV.

The UAV 1900 a depicted in FIG. 19A is an example provided forillustrative purposes. Other embodiments may arrange the image capturedevices differently. For example, FIG. 19B shows an example UAV 1900 bthat is similar to UAV 1900 a, but with a different arrangement of imagecapture devices. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 19B, example UAV 1900 bincludes four image capture devices that are arranged generally at fourcorners of the fixed-wing flight surface 902. For example, a first imagecapture device 1928 is located at a leading edge of the left wing, asecond image capture device 1929 a is located at a trailing edge of theleft wing, a third image capture device 1928 b is located at a leadingedge of the right wing, and a fourth image capture device 1929 b islocated at a trailing edge of the right wing. In some embodiments, theUAV may also include gimbaled image capture devices (e.g., similar toimage capture device 115). FIG. 19B depicts a first gimbaled imagecapture device 1935 a located at the tip of the left wing and a secondgimbaled image capture device 1935 b located at a tip of the right wing.Note that the two gimbaled image capture devices are depictedconceptually and may not represent the actual orientation of suchdevices in certain embodiments. Further, although only two gimbaledimage capture devices are depicted, a person having ordinary skill willrecognize that more or fewer than two may be implemented. In someembodiments, the two gimbaled image capture devices are used fordifferent purposes. For example, one might be configured to capturevisible light, while the other might be configured to capture light atother wavelengths (e.g., infrared light).

FIGS. 20A-20B show a top view and side view (respectively) of anotherexample UAV 2000 that includes an upwards facing image capture device2017 a and a downwards facing image capture device 2017 b, both on thefixed flight surface 2002. Such an arrangement may be utilized toprovide better perception above and below the UAV during flight. Otherembodiments may include more image capture devices than are depicted inFIGS. 17 and 20A-20B. For example, a UAV (not shown) may include boththe side image capture devices 1718 a-b and upward/downward-facing imagecapture devices 2017 a-b. Further a fixed-wing UAV may also include agimbaled image capture device, for example, similar to image capturedevice 115 that is coupled to the body of the UAV 2000.

In some embodiments, the powered rotors of a fixed-wing UAV may berearranged so as to not interfere with image capture devices arrangedalong leading or training edges of a fixed flight surface. For example,FIGS. 21A and 22B show a top view and a rear view (respectively) of anexample UAV 2100 that includes powered rotors 2110 a-b that are arrangedsubstantially between the leading edge and trailing edge of a fixedflight surface 2102. As shown in FIGS. 21A-21B, the rotors 2110 a and2110 b are arranged so as to rotate freely within slots 2130 a and 2130b (respectively) that pass through the fixed wing flight surface 2102.Arranging the rotors 2110 a-b at such a location eliminates anypossibility of obfuscation of image capture devices 2128 a-b arrangedalong the leading edge (as may be present in the example UAVs 1900 a-b)or obfuscation of image capture devices 2129 a-b arrange along thetrailing edge. Although not depicted in FIGS. 21A-B, the UAV 2100 mayalso be equipped with upward and downward facing image capture devices(e.g., as depicted in FIGS. 20A-20B) and/or one or more gimbaled imagecapture devices (e.g., as depicted in FIGS. 19A-19B).

A fixed-wing UAV can include more fixed flight surfaces than aredepicted in FIGS. 17-21B. For example, FIG. 22A shows an example UAV2200 a that includes two fixed wings arranged perpendicular to eachother. The perpendicular wing may function as an aerodynamic stabilizerduring regular flight and may further function to keep the UAV 2200 aupright on the ground before takeoff and upon landing. FIG. 22B shows anexample UAV 2200 b similar to example UAV 2200 a, but with four rotors.

Aerial Vehicle—Example System

FIG. 23 shows a diagram of an example system 2300 including variousfunctional system components that may be part of any of theaforementioned aerial vehicles, including UAVs 100, 400, 500, 600, 700,800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1500, 1500 d, 1600, 1700, 1900 a-b, 2000,2100, or 2200. System 2300 may include one or more propulsion systems(e.g., rotors 2302 and motor(s) 2304), one or more electronic speedcontrollers 2306, a flight controller 2308, a peripheral interface 2310,processor(s) 2312, a memory controller 2314, a memory 2316 (which mayinclude one or more computer-readable storage media), a power module2318, a GPS module 2320, a communications interface 2322, audiocircuitry 2324, an accelerometer 2326 (including subcomponents, such asgyroscopes), an IMU 2328, a proximity sensor 2330, an optical sensorcontroller 2332 and associated optical sensor(s) 2334, a mobile deviceinterface controller 2336 with associated interface device(s) 2338, andany other input controllers 2340 and input device(s) 2342, for example,display controllers with associated display device(s). These componentsmay communicate over one or more communication buses or signal lines asrepresented by the arrows in FIG. 23.

System 2300 is only one example of a system that may be part of any ofthe aforementioned aerial vehicles. Other aerial vehicles may includemore or fewer components than shown in system 2300, may combine two ormore components as functional units, or may have a differentconfiguration or arrangement of the components. Some of the variouscomponents of system 2300 shown in FIG. 23 may be implemented inhardware, software or a combination of both hardware and software,including one or more signal processing and/or application specificintegrated circuits. Also, an aerial vehicle may include anoff-the-shelf aerial vehicle (e.g., a currently availableremote-controlled UAV), coupled with a modular add-on device (forexample, one including components within outline 2390), to perform theinnovative functions described in this disclosure.

A propulsion system (e.g., comprising components 2302-2304) may comprisefixed-pitch rotors. The propulsion system may also includevariable-pitch rotors (for example, using a gimbal mechanism), avariable-pitch jet engine, or any other mode of propulsion having theeffect of providing force. The propulsion system may vary the appliedthrust, for example, by using an electronic speed controller 2306 tovary the speed of each rotor.

Flight controller 2308 may include a combination of hardware and/orsoftware configured to receive input data (e.g., sensor data from imagecapture devices 2334, generated trajectories from an autonomousnavigation system 120, or any other inputs), interpret the data andoutput control commands to the propulsion systems 2302-2306 and/oraerodynamic surfaces (e.g., fixed-wing control surfaces) of the aerialvehicle. Alternatively, or in addition, a flight controller 2308 may beconfigured to receive control commands generated by another component ordevice (e.g., processors 2312 and/or a separate computing device),interpret those control commands and generate control signals to thepropulsion systems 2302-2306 and/or aerodynamic surfaces (e.g.,fixed-wing control surfaces) of the aerial vehicle. In some embodiments,the previously mentioned navigation system 120 may comprise the flightcontroller 2308 and/or any one or more of the other components of system2300. Alternatively, the flight controller 2308 shown in FIG. 23 mayexist as a component separate from the navigation system 120, forexample, similar to the flight controller 160 shown in FIG. 2.

Memory 2316 may include high-speed random-access memory and may alsoinclude non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memorydevices. Access to memory 2316 by other components of system 2300, suchas the processors 2312 and the peripherals interface 2310, may becontrolled by the memory controller 2314.

The peripherals interface 2310 may couple the input and outputperipherals of system 2300 to the processor(s) 4112 and memory 2316. Theone or more processors 2312 run or execute various software programsand/or sets of instructions stored in memory 2316 to perform variousfunctions for the UAV 100 and to process data. In some embodiments,processors 2312 may include general central processing units (CPUs),specialized processing units, such as graphical processing units (GPUs),particularly suited to parallel processing applications, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the peripherals interface2310, the processor(s) 2312, and the memory controller 2314 may beimplemented on a single integrated chip. In some other embodiments, theymay be implemented on separate chips.

The network communications interface 2322 may facilitate transmissionand reception of communications signals often in the form ofelectromagnetic signals. The transmission and reception ofelectromagnetic communications signals may be carried out over physicalmedia such as copper wire cabling or fiber optic cabling, or may becarried out wirelessly, for example, via a radiofrequency (RF)transceiver. In some embodiments, the network communications interfacemay include RF circuitry. In such embodiments, RF circuitry may convertelectrical signals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicate withcommunications networks and other communications devices via theelectromagnetic signals. The RF circuitry may include well-knowncircuitry for performing these functions, including, but not limited to,an antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner,one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, asubscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. The RFcircuitry may facilitate transmission and receipt of data overcommunications networks (including public, private, local, and widearea). For example, communication may be over a wide area network (WAN),a local area network (LAN), or a network or networks such as theInternet. Communication may be facilitated over wired transmission media(e.g., via Ethernet) or wirelessly. Wireless communication may be over awireless cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN)and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and other modes of wirelesscommunication. The wireless communication may use any of a plurality ofcommunications standards, protocols and technologies, including, but notlimited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced DataGSM Environment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA),wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), code division multipleaccess (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, WirelessFidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11n and/or IEEE 802.11ac), Voice OverInternet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, or any other suitable communicationprotocols.

The audio circuitry 2324, including the speaker and microphone 2350, mayprovide an audio interface between the surrounding physical environmentand the aerial vehicle. The audio circuitry 2324 may receive audio datafrom the peripherals interface 2310, convert the audio data to anelectrical signal, and transmit the electrical signal to the speaker2350. The speaker 2350 may convert the electrical signal tohuman-audible sound waves. The audio circuitry 2324 may also receiveelectrical signals converted by the microphone 2350 from sound waves.The audio circuitry 2324 may convert the electrical signal to audio dataand transmit the audio data to the peripherals interface 2310 forprocessing. Audio data may be retrieved from and/or transmitted tomemory 2316 and/or the network communications interface 2322 by theperipherals interface 2310.

The I/O subsystem 2360 may couple input/output peripherals of the aerialvehicle, such as an optical sensor system 2334, the mobile deviceinterface 2338, and other input/control devices 2342, to the peripheralsinterface 2310. The I/O subsystem 2360 may include an optical sensorcontroller 2332, a mobile device interface controller 2336, and otherinput controller(s) 2340 for other input or control devices. The one ormore input controllers 2340 receive/send electrical signals from/toother input or control devices 2342. The other input/control devices2342 may include physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons,etc.), dials, touchscreen displays, slider switches, joysticks, clickwheels, and so forth.

The mobile device interface device 2338 along with mobile deviceinterface controller 2336 may facilitate the transmission of databetween the aerial vehicle and other computing devices such as a mobiledevice 104. According to some embodiments, communications interface 2322may facilitate the transmission of data between the aerial vehicle and amobile device 104 (for example, where data is transferred over a Wi-Finetwork).

System 1200 also includes a power system 1218 for powering the variouscomponents. The power system 1218 may include a power management system,one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC),etc.), a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a powerconverter or inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emittingdiode (LED)) and any other components associated with the generation,management and distribution of power in computerized device.

System 2300 may also include one or more image capture devices 2334.Image capture devices 2334 may be the same as any of the image capturedevices associated with any of the aforementioned aerial vehiclesincluding UAVs 100, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200,1500, 1500 d, 1600, 1700, 1900 a-b, 2000, 2100, or 2200. FIG. 23 showsan image capture device 2334 coupled to an image capture controller 2332in I/O subsystem 2360. The image capture device 2334 may include one ormore optical sensors. For example, image capture device 2334 may includecharge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor(CMOS) phototransistors. The optical sensors of image capture devices2334 receive light from the environment, projected through one or morelenses (the combination of an optical sensor and lens can be referred toas a “camera”), and converts the light to data representing an image. Inconjunction with an imaging module located in memory 2316, the imagecapture device 2334 may capture images (including still images and/orvideo). In some embodiments, an image capture device 2334 may include asingle fixed camera. In other embodiments, an image capture device 2340may include a single adjustable camera (adjustable using a gimbalmechanism with one or more axes of motion). In some embodiments, animage capture device 2334 may include a camera with a wide-angle lensproviding a wider FOV (e.g., at least 180 degrees). In some embodiments,an image capture device 2334 may include an array of multiple camerasproviding up to a full 360 degree view in all directions. In someembodiments, an image capture device 2334 may include two or morecameras (of any type as described herein) placed next to each other inorder to provide stereoscopic vision. In some embodiments, an imagecapture device 2334 may include multiple cameras of any combination asdescribed above. In some embodiments, the cameras of an image capturedevice 2334 may be arranged such that at least two cameras are providedwith overlapping FOV at multiple angles around the aerial vehicle,thereby enabling stereoscopic (i.e., 3D) image/video capture and depthrecovery (e.g., through computer vision algorithms) at multiple anglesaround aerial vehicle. In some embodiments, the aerial vehicle mayinclude some cameras dedicated for image capture of a subject and othercameras dedicated for image capture for visual navigation (e.g., throughvisual inertial odometry).

UAV system 2300 may also include one or more proximity sensors 2330.FIG. 23 shows a proximity sensor 2330 coupled to the peripheralsinterface 2310. Alternately, the proximity sensor 2330 may be coupled toan input controller 2340 in the I/O subsystem 2360. Proximity sensors2330 may generally include remote sensing technology for proximitydetection, range measurement, target identification, etc. For example,proximity sensors 2330 may include radar, sonar, and LIDAR.

System 2300 may also include one or more accelerometers 2326. FIG. 23shows an accelerometer 2326 coupled to the peripherals interface 2310.Alternately, the accelerometer 2326 may be coupled to an inputcontroller 2340 in the I/O subsystem 2360.

System 2300 may include one or more IMU 2328. An IMU 2328 may measureand report the UAV's velocity, acceleration, orientation, andgravitational forces using a combination of gyroscopes andaccelerometers (e.g., accelerometer 2326).

System 2300 may include a global positioning system (GPS) receiver 2320.FIG. 23 shows a GPS receiver 2320 coupled to the peripherals interface2310. Alternately, the GPS receiver 2320 may be coupled to an inputcontroller 2340 in the I/O subsystem 2360. The GPS receiver 2320 mayreceive signals from GPS satellites in orbit around the earth, calculatea distance to each of the GPS satellites (through the use of GPSsoftware), and thereby pinpoint a current global position of the aerialvehicle.

In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 2316 mayinclude an operating system, a communication module (or set ofinstructions), a flight control module (or set of instructions), alocalization module (or set of instructions), a computer vision module(or set of instructions), a graphics module (or set of instructions),and other applications (or sets of instructions). For clarity, one ormore modules and/or applications may not be shown in FIG. 23.

An operating system (e.g., Darwin™, RTXC, Linux™, Unix™, Apple™ OS X,Microsoft Windows™, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks™)includes various software components and/or drivers for controlling andmanaging general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage devicecontrol, power management, etc.), and facilitates communication betweenvarious hardware and software components.

A communications module may facilitate communication with other devicesover one or more external ports 2344 and may also include varioussoftware components for handling data transmission via the networkcommunications interface 2322. The external port 2344 (e.g., UniversalSerial Bus (USB), Firewire, etc.) may be adapted for coupling directlyto other devices or indirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet,wireless LAN, etc.).

A graphics module may include various software components forprocessing, rendering, and displaying graphics data. As used herein, theterm “graphics” may include any object that can be displayed to a user,including, without limitation, text, still images, videos, animations,icons (such as user-interface objects including soft keys), and thelike. The graphics module, in conjunction with a graphics processingunit (GPU) 2312, may process in real time, or near real time, graphicsdata captured by optical sensor(s) 2334 and/or proximity sensors 2330.

A computer vision module, which may be a component of a graphics module,provides analysis and recognition of graphics data. For example, whilethe aerial vehicle is in flight, the computer vision module, along witha graphics module (if separate), GPU 2312, and image capture devices(s)2334, and/or proximity sensors 2330 may recognize and track the capturedimage of an object located on the ground. The computer vision module mayfurther communicate with a localization/navigation module and flightcontrol module to update a position and/or orientation of the aerialvehicle and to provide course corrections to fly along a plannedtrajectory through a physical environment.

A localization/navigation module may determine the location and/ororientation of the aerial vehicle and provide this information for usein various modules and applications (e.g., to a flight control module inorder to generate commands for use by the flight controller 2308).

Image capture devices(s) 2334, in conjunction with an image capturedevice controller 2332 and a graphics module, may be used to captureimages (including still images and video) and store them into memory2316.

The above identified modules and applications each correspond to a setof instructions for performing one or more functions described above.These modules (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented asseparate software programs, procedures or modules, and, thus, varioussubsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise rearranged invarious embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 2316 may store a subsetof the modules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory2316 may store additional modules and data structures not describedabove.

Example Computer Processing System

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computerprocessing system 2400 in which at least some operations described inthis disclosure can be implemented. The example computer processingsystem 2400 may be part of any of the aforementioned devices including,but not limited to, mobile device 104 or any of the aforementioned UAVs100, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1500, 1500 d, 1600,1700, 1900 a-b, 2000, 2100, or 2200. The processing system 2400 mayinclude one or more processors 2402 (e.g., CPU), main memory 2406,non-volatile memory 2410, network adapter 2412 (e.g., networkinterfaces), display 2418, input/output devices 2420, control device2422 (e.g., keyboard and pointing devices), drive unit 2424, including astorage medium 2426, and signal generation device 2430 that arecommunicatively connected to a bus 2416. The bus 2416 is illustrated asan abstraction that represents any one or more separate physical buses,point-to-point connections, or both, connected by appropriate bridges,adapters, or controllers. The bus 2416, therefore, can include, forexample, a system bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus orPCI-Express bus, a HyperTransport or industry standard architecture(ISA) bus, a small computer system interface (SCSI) bus, a universalserial bus (USB), IIC (I2C) bus, or an Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 1394 bus (also called “Firewire”).A bus may also be responsible for relaying data packets (e.g., via fullor half duplex wires) between components of the network appliance, suchas the switching fabric, network port(s), tool port(s), etc.

While the main memory 2406, non-volatile memory 2410, and storage medium2426 (also called a “machine-readable medium”) are shown to be a singlemedium, the term “machine-readable medium” and “storage medium” shouldbe taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches andservers) that store one or more sets of instructions 2428. The term“machine-readable medium” and “storage medium” shall also be taken toinclude any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying aset of instructions for execution by the computing system and that causethe computing system to perform any one or more of the methodologies ofthe presently disclosed embodiments.

In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of thedisclosure may be implemented as part of an operating system or aspecific application, component, program, object, module, or sequence ofinstructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programstypically comprise one or more instructions (e.g., instructions 2404,2408, 2428), set at various times in various memory and storage devicesin a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or moreprocessing units or processors 2402, cause the processing system 2400 toperform operations to execute elements involving the various aspects ofthe disclosure.

Moreover, while embodiments have been described in the context of fullyfunctioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the various embodiments are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that thedisclosure applies equally, regardless of the particular type of machineor computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution.

Further examples of machine-readable storage media, machine-readablemedia, or computer-readable (storage) media include recordable typemedia such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices 2410, floppy andother removable disks, hard disk drives, optical discs (e.g., CompactDisc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROMS), Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs)), andtransmission type media, such as digital and analog communication links.

The network adapter 2412 enables the computer processing system 2400 tomediate data in a network 2414 with an entity that is external to thecomputer processing system 2400, such as a network appliance, throughany known and/or convenient communications protocol supported by thecomputer processing system 2400 and the external entity. The networkadapter 2412 can include one or more of a network adaptor card, awireless network interface card, a router, an access point, a wirelessrouter, a switch, a multilayer switch, a protocol converter, a gateway,a bridge, a bridge router, a hub, a digital media receiver, and/or arepeater.

The network adapter 2412 can include a firewall which can, in someembodiments, govern and/or manage permission to access/proxy data in acomputer network, and track varying levels of trust between differentmachines and/or applications. The firewall can be any number of moduleshaving any combination of hardware and/or software components able toenforce a predetermined set of access rights between a particular set ofmachines and applications, machines and machines, and/or applicationsand applications, for example, to regulate the flow of traffic andresource sharing between these varying entities. The firewall mayadditionally manage and/or have access to an access control list whichdetails permissions including, for example, the access and operationrights of an object by an individual, a machine, and/or an application,and the circumstances under which the permission rights stand.

As indicated above, the techniques introduced here may be implementedby, for example, programmable circuitry (e.g., one or moremicroprocessors), programmed with software and/or firmware, entirely inspecial-purpose hardwired (i.e., non-programmable) circuitry, or in acombination or such forms. Special-purpose circuitry can be in the formof, for example, one or more application-specific integrated circuits(ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gatearrays (FPGAs), etc.

Note that any of the embodiments described above can be combined withanother embodiment, except to the extent that it may be stated otherwiseabove, or to the extent that any such embodiments might be mutuallyexclusive in function and/or structure.

Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific exemplary embodiments, it will be recognized that the inventionis not limited to the embodiments described, but can be practiced withmodification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims. Accordingly, the specifications and drawings are to be regardedin an illustrative sense, rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. An aerial vehicle comprising: a plurality ofupward-facing image capture devices; a plurality of downward-facingimage capture devices; and a computer system communicatively coupled tothe plurality of upward-facing image capture devices and the pluralityof downward-facing image capture devices, the computer system configuredto: process images captured by any one or more of the plurality ofupward-facing image capture devices or the plurality of downward-facingimage capture devices to estimate a position and/or orientation of theaerial vehicle; generate a planned trajectory for the aerial vehiclethrough a physical environment based on the processing of the images;and control a propulsion system and/or flight surface of the aerialvehicle to cause the aerial vehicle to autonomously maneuver along theplanned trajectory.
 2. The aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein: theplurality of upward-facing image capture devices are oriented relativeto a body of the aerial vehicle to enable stereoscopic computer visionsubstantially above the aerial vehicle; and the plurality ofdownward-facing image capture devices are oriented relative to the bodyof the aerial vehicle to enable stereoscopic computer visionsubstantially below the aerial vehicle.
 3. The aerial vehicle of claim1, wherein: the plurality of upward-facing image capture devicesinclude: three image capture devices arranged on one or more topsurfaces of the aerial vehicle so as to enable trinocular stereoscopiccomputer vision in a first plurality of directions substantially abovethe aerial vehicle; and the plurality downward-facing image capturedevices include: three image capture devices arranged on one or morebottom surfaces of the aerial vehicle so as to enable trinocularstereoscopic computer vision in a second plurality of directionssubstantially below the aerial vehicle.
 4. The aerial vehicle of claim1, wherein at least one of the plurality of upward-facing image capturedevices and at least one of the plurality of downward-facing imagecapture devices have overlapping fields of view.
 5. The aerial vehicleof claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of upward-facing imagecapture devices or the plurality of downward-facing image capturedevices has a field of view of at least 180 degrees.
 6. The aerialvehicle of claim 1, wherein the plurality of upward-facing image capturedevices and the plurality of downward-facing image capture devices arearranged so as to enable stereoscopic image capture in all directionsaround the aerial vehicle.
 7. The aerial vehicle of claim 1, furthercomprising: a body that extends along a longitudinal axis from a forwardend to an aft end, the body having a port side and a starboard side onopposite sides of the longitudinal axis; a first rotor assemblyextending from the port side of the body proximate to the forward end ofthe body; a second rotor assembly extending from the starboard side ofthe body proximate to the forward end of the body; a third rotorassembly extending from the port side of the body proximate to the aftend of the body; and a fourth rotor assembly extending from thestarboard side of the body proximate to the aft end of the body.
 8. Theaerial vehicle of claim 7, wherein: the plurality of upward-facing imagecapture devices include: a first image capture device arranged along atop surface of the first rotor assembly; a second image capture devicearranged along a top surface of the second rotor assembly; and a thirdimage capture device arranged along a top surface of the body proximateto the aft end of the body; and the plurality of downward-facing imagecapture devices include: a fourth image capture device arranged along abottom surface of the third rotor assembly; a fifth image capture devicearranged along a bottom surface of the fourth rotor assembly; and asixth image capture device arranged along a bottom surface of the bodyproximate to the forward end of the body.
 9. The aerial vehicle of claim7, wherein the first rotor assembly includes a first powered rotorarranged along a bottom surface of the first rotor assembly; the secondrotor assembly includes a second powered rotor arranged along a bottomsurface of the second rotor assembly; the third rotor assembly includesa third powered rotor arranged along a top surface of the third rotorassembly; and the fourth rotor assembly includes a fourth powered rotorarranged along a top surface of the fourth rotor assembly.
 10. Theaerial vehicle of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first rotorassembly, second rotor assembly, third rotor assembly, or fourth rotorassembly includes: a support arm that extends from a wall of the body toa rotor housing.
 11. The aerial vehicle of claim 10, wherein at least aportion of the support arm, the wall of the body, and the rotor housingare formed as a unitary part in the construction of the aerial vehicle.12. The aerial vehicle of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality ofprotective structural elements, each of the plurality of protectivestructural elements arranged proximate to a different one of theplurality of upward-facing image capture devices and the plurality ofdownward-facing image capture devices, the plurality of protectivestructural elements configured to protect the plurality of upward-facingimage capture devices and the plurality of downward-facing image capturedevices from contact with physical objects while the aerial vehicle isin use.
 13. The aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the aerial vehicle isan unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
 14. The aerial vehicle of claim 1,wherein the aerial vehicle is a fixed-wing aircraft.
 15. A computingapparatus comprising one or more computer-readable media; and programinstructions stored on the one or more computer-readable storage mediathat, when executed by one or more processors, direct a control systemof an aerial vehicle having a plurality of upward-facing image capturedevices and a plurality of downward-facing image capture devices to atleast: process images captured by any one or more of the plurality ofupward-facing image capture devices or the plurality of downward-facingimage capture devices to estimate a position and/or orientation of theaerial vehicle; generate a planned trajectory for the aerial vehiclethrough a physical environment based on the processing of the images;control a propulsion system and/or flight surface of the aerial vehicleto cause the aerial vehicle to autonomously maneuver along the plannedtrajectory; wherein the plurality of upward-facing image capture devicesare oriented relative to a body of the aerial vehicle to enablestereoscopic computer vision substantially above the aerial vehicle andthe plurality of downward-facing image capture devices are orientedrelative to the body of the aerial vehicle to enable stereoscopiccomputer vision substantially below the aerial vehicle.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 15, wherein the aerial vehicle includes a body thatextends along a longitudinal axis from a forward end to an aft end, thebody having a port side and a starboard side on opposite sides of thelongitudinal axis, a first rotor assembly extending from the port sideof the body proximate to the forward end of the body, a second rotorassembly extending from the starboard side of the body proximate to theforward end of the body, a third rotor assembly extending from the portside of the body proximate to the aft end of the body, and a fourthrotor assembly extending from the starboard side of the body proximateto the aft end of the body.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein: theplurality of upward-facing image capture devices include: a first imagecapture device arranged along a top surface of the first rotor assembly;a second image capture device arranged along a top surface of the secondrotor assembly; and a third image capture device arranged along a topsurface of the body proximate to the aft end of the body; and theplurality of downward-facing image capture devices include: a fourthimage capture device arranged along a bottom surface of the third rotorassembly; a fifth image capture device arranged along a bottom surfaceof the fourth rotor assembly; and a sixth image capture device arrangedalong a bottom surface of the body proximate to the forward end of thebody.
 18. An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising: a plurality ofupward-facing image capture devices including at least three imagecapture devices arranged on one or more top surfaces of the aerialvehicle so as to enable trinocular stereoscopic computer vision in afirst plurality of directions substantially above the aerial vehicle; aplurality of downward-facing image capture devices including at leastthree image capture devices arranged on one or more bottom surfaces ofthe aerial vehicle so as to enable trinocular stereoscopic computervision in a second plurality of directions substantially below theaerial vehicle; and a computer system communicatively coupled to theplurality of upward-facing image capture devices and the plurality ofdownward-facing image capture devices, the computer system configuredto: process images captured by any one or more of the plurality ofupward-facing image capture devices or the plurality of downward-facingimage capture devices to estimate a position and/or orientation of theaerial vehicle; generate a planned trajectory for the aerial vehiclethrough a physical environment based on the processing of the images;and control a propulsion system and/or flight surface of the aerialvehicle to cause the aerial vehicle to autonomously maneuver along theplanned trajectory.
 19. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 18, whereinat least one of the plurality of upward-facing image capture devices andat least one of the plurality of downward-facing image capture deviceshave overlapping fields of view and at least one of the plurality ofupward-facing image capture devices or the plurality of downward-facingimage capture devices has a field of view of at least 180 degrees. 20.The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 19, further comprising: a body thatextends along a longitudinal axis from a forward end to an aft end, thebody having a port side and a starboard side on opposite sides of thelongitudinal axis; a first rotor assembly extending from the port sideof the body proximate to the forward end of the body; a second rotorassembly extending from the starboard side of the body proximate to theforward end of the body; a third rotor assembly extending from the portside of the body proximate to the aft end of the body; and a fourthrotor assembly extending from the starboard side of the body proximateto the aft end of the body.